Leap of Faith
by MoonstoneAndStarDust
Summary: The lives of Rose, Scorpius, Al, and Erin continue as they leave Hogwarts and enter the real world, which turns out to be a lot more real than they were expecting. A sequel to Show a Little Faith.
1. Maybe we ain't that young anymore

The summer days were warm and freeing, filled with the mourning of a season of life that had passed, and the excitement of a promising future.

Rose Weasley had officially graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry exactly one week ago. She had a job lined up as an assistant at a small wizarding publishing house in London, and a flat that she'd be moving into with her best friend Erin Longbottom in only a few weeks time. They'd found one in Muggle London that was witch and wizard friendly and also happened to be in the same building where a few of Rose's cousins lived on the floor below. The excitement that both girls felt at the prospect of living together could only be rivaled by the excitement that Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy felt about beginning their careers as Aurors.

Amidst all the levity and fun that had been the first week post-Hogwarts, Rose and Erin had been just as anxious as their boyfriends were for their Auror evaluations. No matter how well they did on their N.E.W.T.s or what type of letters of recommendation they received, none of it would matter if they couldn't pass the initial evaluation, which took place the last week of June.

It had been an interesting year leading up to this moment. Rose's cousin and her best friend had fallen for each other, though it had taken awhile for them to get to the point where they could actually accept that it was happening. Rose could hardly believe at times that the anxious girl sitting across from her in the Leaky Cauldron was the same one who'd acted like she didn't care for Albus Potter as anything more than a friend, being frustrated with him more often than not. Now she kept shooting glances towards the fireplace as she anxiously waited for her boyfriend to show up and tell them how his evaluation had gone.

Along with becoming much more than friends with Scorpius Malfoy, Rose had fulfilled her dream of being Head Girl during her final year at Hogwarts. She had loved having Scorpius by her side as Head Boy, despite the ups and downs that had occurred throughout the year. He'd truly grown through the whole experience. Both of them had. In the years to come, Rose would look back on her last year at Hogwarts and see it for what it was; a season of life where she'd grown and changed and began to become the person she was going to be. She would also see how much it prepared her for the years to follow.

"They should be done by now, right?" asked Erin as she checked her watch for the fifth time in the last two minutes. Rose looked at her own to see that it read only a couple of minutes past three.

"Should be any minute," said Rose, trying hard to stay calm herself as her knee bounced in agitation under the table. Erin groaned and rested her head on the table, nearly dragging her hair in the plate of chips that had remained mostly untouched as both had been too nervous to eat.

"This has been the longest three hours of my life," Erin groaned into the table. She lifted her head and rested her chin in her hand, her eyes trained on the fireplace. "It's mad to think that something he's worked so hard for and for so long could all of the sudden just be taken away."

Rose nodded and hummed in agreement. She'd be devastated for Al if that happened to him, but she highly doubted it would. Like Erin had said, he'd been preparing for this for a long time. He was as ready as he could be. She was much more nervous for Scorpius. He was probably just as capable as Al, but he hadn't been preparing for nearly as long. What if that made a difference?

"I'm sure he'll pass," said Rose. "They both will."

Erin spared a glance Rose's way and gave her a grateful smile before her eyes snapped back to the fireplace. There was a flash of green flames as someone flooed into the grate, causing both girls to sit up straighter in anticipation, only to slouch back in their seats when it wasn't either of their boyfriends.

Their anxious vigil was interrupted a few minutes later when one of Rose's many cousins approached their table, setting a fresh butterbeer in front of each of them.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" asked Dominique as she checked her watch. The middle of Bill and Fleur Weasley's three children had been working at the pub since she'd left school, much to the frustration of her mother, who thought she was wasting her potential. Rose knew that Dominique was frustrated by her situation as well, as it was common knowledge that she felt a bit stuck. But Rose could understand feeling like you had no clue what you wanted to do with your life, and at least Dom got to spend a great deal of time baking, the thing she loved to do most.

"Yes, they should be," said Erin, her frustration beginning to overshadow her nerves. "They _do _know they're supposed to meet us here after, right?"

"Erin, we talked about it just last night," Rose reminded her. "I'm sure they wouldn't have forgotten."

"I don't know," said Dominique thoughtfully. "Boys in general can be rather absent minded at times."

There was a glimmer of mirth in Dom's eyes, giving away how much she was enjoying watching them squirm.

"Oh, do shut up," Erin said with a sigh. "I'm literally two seconds away from storming into the Ministry and making sure he didn't do something to get himself killed."

Dominique laughed. "Oh, buck up, Longbottom. Al's not that much of an idiot. And there's no way anyone would let that happen."

Erin grumbled and popped a slightly cold chip into her mouth, scrunching her face up in distaste. Dom gave another chuckle before waving her wand and warming up their food.

"I'll grab drinks for the boys, because I'm sure they'll be here any moment," said Dom, giving Erin a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before heading back to the kitchen.

A second later, the Floo had sprung to life again, and Erin and Rose sat perfectly still, trying their best not to get their hopes out. Matching sighs of relief fell out of them as a very familiar young wizard with dark hair and green eyes stepped out of the flames, but the relief was short lived. His face was somber and almost angry as he spotted their hopeful faces and slowly strode towards their table.

As nervous as his demeanor made Rose, he only held her attention for a moment. The flames had turned green again and then another wizard appeared in the Leaky Cauldron, this one with bright blond hair and steal blue eyes. Rose smiled in relief when she saw the amused look on his face and the brightness in his eyes as he caught sight of her.

"What happened?" asked Erin as Al grew closer to their booth. She was standing and watching him anxiously as Scorpius followed behind him. Al let out a despondent sigh and grabbed the hand Erin had reached out to him, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek before they both sat in the booth. Rose was barely paying attention to this, her gaze focused on Scorpius as he beamed at her and pulled her into a tight hug as she stood to greet him.

"I did it, Rose," he whispered into her ear. "I passed."

Rose felt like she could cry in relief, and her eyes welled up as she gripped him tighter, pride and joy filling her. She pulled back enough to place a chaste kiss on his lips, smiling brilliantly at him as they sat down across from Al and Erin, who was still gripping Al's hand and watching him anxiously.

"Al, you need to get over it," said Scorpius, more amused than Rose would expect if Al hadn't passed, which had been her fear from the moment she saw him. "You've been waiting for this for years and you're going to let this ruin it?"

Al let out a sigh. "I suppose you're right. I just didn't expect it. Now I'll look even more like him than I already do."

Rose and Erin both gave Al curious looks as Scorpius laughed. Al scowled at him for a moment before he noticed how his girlfriend and cousin were looking at him. "They told me I need glasses."

The statement came out almost like a whine, a petulant look on Al's face at what he seemed to think was devastating news.

"What?" Erin asked in confusion, obviously flustered by the unpredictable way things were going.

"Because of my physical," Al explained. "They check things like your blood pressure and your weight and overall health, and one of the things they do is test your eyes. Mine aren't horrible and I won't have to wear them all the time, but since I need them for reading and writing and I'll have a lot of paperwork to do, they said I need to get them."

Erin watched him with a disbelieving look on her face as Scorpius shook with silent chuckles. Rose let out an amused snort of her own.

"So, you passed?" Erin asked cautiously, obviously trying to tread carefully.

"Oh, yeah," said Al, finally smiling at her. "I passed."

A look of joy and relief flashed across Erin's face, but it was quickly replaced with a scowl as she started smacking Albus on the arm repeatedly.

"Don't do that!" she nearly shrieked at a shocked Al, who held up his hands defensively. "You come in here all mopey and depressed. I thought you'd failed, you prat!"

Al smiled guiltily at Erin, but grabbed her hands to stop her from continuing to hit him. "I'm sorry I scared you. They just told me, so I hadn't had time to adjust to the news yet."

"Oh, who cares that you have to get glasses," Erin said with a huff, pulling her hands from Al and crossing her arms. "You're going to be an Auror, Al. Shouldn't that be what you're preoccupied with?"

"Oh, trust me, he was beside himself when they told us," Scorpius assured her. "We got our housing assignments and our schedules for orientation and he was as giddy as a school girl, but then they said they needed him to make an appointment to get glasses. I've never seen such a quick change in mood."

It was obvious that Scorpius was getting quite a kick out of Al's predicament, and Rose couldn't deny that she was too. Erin even allowed an amused smirk to form on her face at Scorpius' words.

"Just don't let it ruin a day that you've waited years for, all right?" she said, looking at Al pointedly before a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. "Besides, glasses might make you look sexy."

He grinned at her, looking very much how Rose had been expecting him to when he told them he'd passed his evaluation. Erin smiled back, obviously pleased that she'd managed to cheer him up.

"I suppose it'll be worth it if that's the case," he teased, and Erin laughed before leaning forward to wind her arms around his neck and pull him into a tight hug.

"Congratulations," Rose heard her mumble into his ear, and Al's arms tightened around her waist at the word. Erin's eyes shifted to Scorpius as she continued to embrace Al. "You too, Scorp."

"Thanks," he said, a pleased smile on his face.

"I take it congratulations are in order?" asked Dom as she approached the table once again, placing butterbeers in front of the two new Auror trainees

"They most certainly are," said Erin, pulling away from Al but keeping one of her arms around his shoulder so her hand rested at the base of his neck. "You're looking at the Ministry's newest Auror recruits."

"That's brilliant," said Dom with a bright smile. "Do Ethan and Teddy know?"

"Teddy was there," said Al after taking a sip of his drink. "He helps out with the trainees so they let him sit in. I don't know if anyone's told Ethan yet."

"Is that going to be awkward?" asked Dom, leaning against the back of Al and Erin's booth with a contemplative look. "Working with your girlfriend's brother?"

This thought, it would appear, hadn't fully occurred to Al before. His eyes widened at the question as he tried to come up with a response. Erin, however, rolled her eyes. "It'll be fine. Ethan likes Al well enough, and if he gives him any trouble, he'll have to deal with me."

Al snorted in amusement and looked at his girlfriend. "That's not exactly the most intimidating thing, love."

Erin scowled at him and tugged at the hair at the base of his neck.

"I guess this means a celebratory dinner at your parents' is a go, then?" said Rose with a chuckle as Al rubbed the back of his head after wincing in pain.

"Yep," said Al. "Dad said he'd let Mum know. We can head back there whenever."

"Is there anything else you lot want?" asked Dom. "On the house."

"Got any of those raspberry tarts?" asked Al hopefully. Dom smiled and nodded, promising to bring them out a box full before heading back to the kitchen.

"I swear this place has gotten better since she started working here," said Erin. "Even Mum says so. People love Dom's baking."

"I'm glad she's doing something she loves," said Rose, "even if she feels stuck."

They enjoyed their drinks and the plate of chips as Al and Scorpius filled the girls in on what they'd had to do for their evaluation. It consisted of what sounded like paired down versions of the type of training they'd be doing in the future. Things that involved defense, stealth, physical strength, quick thinking, and strategy. Scorpius admitted that he thought he almost failed the stealth part, and Al had been better at his quick thinking than strategy, preferring to rush into things before fully formulating a plan.

"And if that was the minimum as far as physical strength goes, it's going to be a rough first few months," said Scorpius while Al nodded in agreement. "I can already tell I'm going to be sore tomorrow."

Overall, they were both thoroughly pleased with how it went, neither feeling like they hadn't earned their spots. It was something Al hadn't fully expressed being concerned about, but Rose could tell by the way he talked about feeling like he'd earned it on his own merit that he'd been fearful they'd let him in just because of his dad.

When they headed to the Potters' an hour later with a box of raspberry tarts in hand, it was to find an ecstatic Ginny, beaming with pride as she went back and forth between hugging both Scorpius and Albus tightly, jabbering on about how proud she was and how she knew they were going to pass.

"James and Violet are coming for dinner," Ginny informed them. "I didn't tell them why, though. I thought I'd let you do that."

Al rolled his eyes, but Rose could tell he was pleased to be able to relay the good news to his brother. "Where's Lily?" he asked.

"She was at Percy and Audrey's, and then she was going over to Caleb's, I think," said Ginny. "I told her to be back for dinner."

Harry was home an hour later, beaming with pride as he embraced his son firmly before shaking his hand. Rose was in the kitchen helping Ginny and saw this happen through the doorway, but was too far away to hear what Harry was saying to his son. Even from a distance, though, she could tell he was proud.

"Has Scorpius told his parents?" Ginny asked Rose as she plated some of the tarts.

"They're visiting Astoria's sister and her family for the week, so he didn't want to pull them away," said Rose, who'd suggested to Scorpius that he see if his parents wanted to come for dinner as well. As much as she could tell he wanted them to be there, he'd merely sent them an owl to tell them the good news, seeming to think it was even more important that his mother and father spend time with his aunt and uncle. He was vague as to why, but Rose had caught on to the fact over the past few days that something wasn't quite right. He'd been acting strange whenever his parents were brought up since a few days after they'd left Hogwarts. She also got the feeling that he intended to explain it to her later based on the looks he gave her.

James and Violet were there by half past five, and Al's older brother responded with just as much pride and a bit more excited enthusiasm than his father had. He seemed just as pleased for Scorpius as well.

Rose joined the young people back in the sitting room after Ginny had assured her that there was nothing left to do but wait for dinner to come out of the oven. She left her aunt and uncle to tell each other about their days and most likely snog in the kitchen. Rose hid a smile as she recalled Al's complaint after only a few days back home that his parents had become teenagers again since their kids were never around. He was very eager to move out of the house in August. And based on the actions of her own parents in recent days, Rose could sympathize.

As Rose entered the sitting room, Erin was talking to Violet about her upcoming placement at St. Mungo's while Al, James, and Scorpius continued to talk about their evaluations.

"When do you start your work with Mr. Malfoy?" Violet was asking as Rose joined her and Erin on the couch.

"He's giving me till August to settle in," said Erin, excitement alight in her eyes at the prospect of her new job. "I'm meeting with him and his other partners towards the end of July. Just so we can get to know each other and they can show me around."

"What about you, Rose?" asked Violet.

"Same. I start in August, so we all get July to adjust."

"You're lucky," said Violet. "James started only a week after school ended, and I started the week after that."

"Was it weird?" asked Erin. "Transitioning into the world outside of Hogwarts? I'm having a hard time imagining what September will be like."

"It was strange, that's for sure," Violet allowed. "I think the most difficult part to sort out was the social stuff. The boys wanted the run of the flat Rox and I shared, and everyone expected everyone to be able to do everything together. Stuff like that. Not to mention James and I were a bit of a mess that whole first year."

"You worked it out, though," Rose said with a smile. Violet grinned back at her before glancing at her boyfriend.

"Took us quite a few mistakes, but, yeah, we got it sorted."

Rose was about to ask Violet how things were going as far as the older girl's relationship with James went, but stopped short as the fireplace erupted in green flames and Lily stumbled through.

Rose hadn't seen her cousin since the night they'd gotten back from Hogwarts. Most of this was due to the fact that Lily was normally over at her house all the time during the summer, but had kept her distance since she and Rose's brother still weren't talking. The fiasco that had been the party after the Quidditch final was still causing a rift between people that Rose had never expected to be at such drastic odds with each other. Out of everyone involved, the only people still not speaking to each other were Lily and Hugo, who also wasn't talking to Caleb by extension.

Rose had been hoping to have an opportunity to talk to her cousin, and was hopeful that with all the good spirits of the evening, she'd get a chance to after dinner. But one look at Lily's face completely derailed any plans she might have had.

The boys had continued talking during Lily's arrival, but Rose, Erin, and Violet all stared at the youngest Potter with fear and concern. She'd stumbled briefly on her entrance, but righted herself with a huff, her body tense and rigid as she surveyed the room. Her eyes were slightly red as they finally landed on where her brothers and Scorpius stood, narrowing as her jaw clenched and her hands curled into fists. She looked ready to do some serious physical harm, and Rose would have been fearful for the life of whomever was on the receiving end of her glare had she been allowed to use magic.

Lily took a few shaky deep breaths before she finally snapped. "This is all your ruddy fault, you meddling arsehole!"

All three boys stopped talking and looked at Lily in shock. Rose couldn't tell which one she was scowling at, but it became obvious when James and Scorpius turned to look at Al, who pointed at himself in question.

"Yes, you, you wanker!" Lily snapped. "I can't believe you told him to do that!"

"Told who to do what?" Al asked in confusion, sounding a bit annoyed that his sister was yelling at him.

"Caleb! You told him to break up with me, didn't you?"

A hush fell over the room as all eyes turned to Al, whose jaw dropped open in shock. "What?" he said in astonishment. "No I didn't."

Lily crossed her arms and hardened her glare "Then why the hell did he just tell me that you telling him to fix things was part of the reason he decided to break up with me?"

Rose cringed at Lily's words. She remembered perfectly well the conversation Caleb had referred to. Lily had stormed out of the Great Hall on the last day of exams, refusing to talk about the rift between her and Hugo. Al had then turned to Caleb, instructing him to find a way to fix things. Breaking up with Lily was not what Rose had been expecting Caleb to do in response.

"Wait, he actually broke up with you?" Al asked, obviously surprised by this turn of events.

"Yes, damn it! Aren't you listening? What the hell did you say to him!?"

Everyone stood in stunned silence while Lily glared at her brother, breathing heavily as she attempted to control her anger and heartbreak.

"Lily," said Al, taking a small step towards her with a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm so-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry!" she yelled, pointing accusingly at her brother. "Tell me why you thought it was your place to butt into my relationship! Tell me how you're going to fix this! Because you _have _to, Al! You have to fix this!"

Lily's voice was beginning to quaver, her lower lip trembling as she tried to hold her ground. She'd drawn the attention of her parents, who were standing in the doorway of the kitchen and looking tempted to intervene, but nobody seemed to have any desire to get involved.

"I swear, Lily," said Al, taking another daring step towards his sister. "I only told him that he had to fix things. I never said anything about breaking up with you."

"Yeah, well, he did it anyway," said Lily, her voice cracking with emotion. "And whether you meant it or not, that's how he took your advice. So this is still your fault and it's still your job to _fix it._"

"Lily, I-"

"No!" she yelled as Al reached out as if to pull her into a comforting hug. Rose's eyes widened a bit in surprise as Lily took a swing at her brother, hitting him squarely in the chest and continuing to do so as words flew from her mouth. "This can't - be - happening! We're supposed to be together!"

Al didn't back down, his expression pained as Lily continued to hit him before he managed to grab onto her wrists. She struggled for a moment, a few choice words grumbled at her brother as her eyes began to well with tears. Finally, she gave up, standing still and breathing heavily for a moment before her whole body went limp as she fell forward and rested her forehead against her brother's chest. A gut-wrenching sob escaped her as he let go of her wrists so he could wrap his arms around her.

Rose's heart broke for her cousin. No matter how poorly everything had been handled, it was obvious how much Lily cared for Caleb. It was quite possible that she was even falling in love with him. And just like that, it was over. And her accusations towards Al were just evidence of the fact that Lily was in denial and trying to find someone else to take out her frustration on. Rose assumed it was only a matter of time before she started blaming Hugo too.

Al continued to hold his sister, stroking her back comfortingly and whispering consoling words, even though he knew they were a bit empty. Everything would be all right in time, but Rose knew Lily wouldn't be able to see that at the present moment.

"I think he's got this," James said softly, jerking his head towards the dining room. Everyone moved to follow as Lily continued to cry into her brother's chest, her hands gripping his back tightly.

"I didn't see that coming," said Erin as the door closed behind them and deadened the sound of Lily's sobs.

"Which part?" asked James. "The part where Caleb broke up with Lily? Or the part where Al actually handled that whole thing rather well?"

James was rewarded for his comment by no less than three slaps to the back of the head.

* * *

**A/N: It's sequel time! And this will have chapters from the POV of Rose, Scorpius, Al, and Erin. I was contemplating waiting until I had all this written out before beginning to post, but seeing as I want some input, I decided against it. I do have eight chapters written so I can hopefully keep ahead even while posting weekly!**

**So, here's where I want your opinion/advice. If you count the chapters I've written for the accompanying sequel focusing on Lily/Hugo/Louis and the rest, as well as a couple snapshots, I have a total of thirteen chapters written. I will be posting the snapshots in the same story that I have been so far, but I wanted to know your thoughts on whether or not I should publish the other sequel alongside this story as the chapters fit in, or wait until this story is over? I've also thought about just putting those chapters in the snapshots, but they feel like their own actual story. Sort of like the James and Violet one (which I'm actually thinking of revisiting). If you want it all coming at you at once, it might take me longer to update each story, but I will still plan on doing it at least weekly. I would totally be down with doing this, if it wouldn't be too confusing to try to keep up with.**

**Let me know! Hope you're excited to continue the journey these characters have already begun.**

**P.S. Not to change in rating from the previous story. Nothing crazy, but just to be safe!**


	2. I might as well be the one

"That wasn't quite the night I expected."

Scorpius nodded in response to Rose's comment, letting out a humorless chuckle as he thought over the past few hours.

Al had eventually gotten Lily to calm down, but she'd gone up to her room without eating dinner. They hadn't heard anything from her for the remainder of the evening, and their meal hadn't been as lighthearted and celebratory as they'd planned, all of them slightly preoccupied with Lily's well-being.

It had only been a few days into the summer holidays when both Lily's parents and Rose's had been clued into the fact that their youngest children weren't speaking to each other. They weren't entirely sure as to why, but as such a thing had never happened before, they were obviously concerned. As no one knew what to expect from a Lily without Hugo, how she would handle this further upheaval in her personal life was a complete mystery. Scorpius had to admit that he was a bit worried for her himself.

"Are you disappointed?" Rose asked him as they settled onto the bench that sat on the Potters' front porch. "We didn't exactly do much celebrating."

"It's fine," he assured her, draping his arm across her shoulder and pulling her into his side. "Just being here with all of you and knowing I have this much support is enough for me."

Even though he couldn't see her face as she rested her head on his shoulder, Scorpius could hear Rose's smile as she responded. "We're all really proud of you. I hope you don't mind sharing the spotlight with Al."

"Nah, it's fine," he said with a shrug. "I'd probably feel uncomfortable if all the attention was on me."

Rose hummed in response and snuggled closer to him, turning a bit so her arm could go across his waist, her hand resting along his side. He breathed deeply, taking in the moment and her presence as his hand went up from around her shoulder to play with her hair.

"Sometimes I can't believe we're actually here," she said with a sigh of contentment.

"And where's here, exactly?" he asked with a smile.

She shrugged against him. "Done with school, prepared to face our future careers…together."

Scorpius grinned at the shy tone her voice had taken on at the last word. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "It's a pretty nice place to be."

Rose sighed against him and tightened her hold around his waist. They sat there in comfortable silence for a moment, neither quite ready to say goodbye for the evening even though they knew they'd see each other the next day.

The thought of tomorrow brought Scorpius' family to his mind. He wasn't too worried about everything. He didn't feel the need to be yet. But he knew that the moment he told Rose what was going on, it would become that much more real, so he'd put it off all week. Scorpius knew she could tell something was wrong. He'd been absent the day following their return from Hogwarts, canceling the plans they'd had to meet up with Al and Erin at the Leaky Cauldron that evening, and he knew he was tensing up whenever his parents were mentioned.

They'd allowed him to settle in the first night he'd been home before telling him the news the next morning. It was a week later, and it felt like it had been forever since his parents had sat down with him in his bedroom, an event that had only ever happened when they had bad news. He could still clearly picture his mother sitting in the arm chair by his window, his father sitting on the arm with his hand resting on her back in support as she told her son everything while he sat on his bed and looked at her in disbelief and denial.

At the beginning, the worst part of it had been the fact that he'd had no clue anything was wrong in the first place. He'd been so caught up in everything going on in his own life that he'd barely paid attention to what was happening with his parents. His mother had assured him that he had no reason to feel bad, since they hadn't even known themselves until just after Easter, but he still hated the fact that he hadn't even thought to write home and ask how they were. All of his letters during the last part of term had been about him.

"Is everything all right?" Rose asked in a quiet voice, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Absolutely," he assured her, running his hand more thoroughly through her hair.

"I'm sorry your parents couldn't be here tonight," she said after a few moments of silence.

Scorpius sighed. Of course she knew where his mind was. "Me too."

She stayed silent for another moment, but he knew it wouldn't last. And part of him wanted her to ask so he didn't have to work up the courage to introduce the topic himself.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she began in a quiet voice, and Scorpius felt himself smile in spite of himself.

"No, I want to," he said, realizing that it was true. He tried not to be too disappointed when she pulled away, her brown eyes searching his as she looked up at him in concern. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before speaking.

"Mum's not exactly well."

Alarm appeared on Rose's features as she sat up more fully, one of her hands resting on his thigh. "Not well how?"

Scorpius tried to offer her a reassuring smile, but he knew it probably came off a bit strained. "There's this thing with her family," he began slowly. "A blood curse. It only pops up every few generations or so, and normally only in females when they're young. They thought she didn't have it, but she started not feeling well pretty regularly a couple of months ago, and they said she has what, at this point, is a very mild version of it. It was just dormant longer than normal."

Rose's eyes searched his face as she soaked in this news. He could tell she had a million questions running through her mind, and as much as he wanted to answer them, he wasn't sure he'd be able to.

"What does that mean, then?" she asked, voicing the one question that he was the least confident in answering.

"As far as they can tell, nothing is going to change much right now outside of her having bad days every now and then," said Scorpius."They're not sure how bad it's going to get since it took this long for it to surface, but if it's the full blown curse, she could get to the point where she can't even get out of bed anymore. After that...well..."

He'd done his best to say it all as matter-of-factly as possible, but he couldn't continue. He could barely even think the words. It had been easy to focus on other things the past few days, like preparing for his evaluation. Scorpius could honestly say that he'd hardly thought about it, especially once his parents left to go visit with his aunt and uncle and cousins a few days ago. But now that he temporarily had nothing to distract himself with, the reality of it all started to hit home.

He pulled his arm from around Rose's shoulder and rubbed his hand over his face, letting out a sigh before leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees and holding his face in his hands.

"Scor, I'm so sorry," he heard Rose say in a soft voice. Her words were followed by her touch a moment later, a hand going to his back while the other remained on his thigh. He willed himself not to cry, her tender words and touch breaking through the wall he'd put up to keep his emotions at bay.

"I know that this might be the worst it ever gets," he choked out. "That's what the Healers said. But, Rose…I'm terrified that it won't be."

He hadn't realized he'd started shaking until she reached up and grabbed his trembling hand, pulling it away from his face and holding it tightly in her lap while she continued to stroke his back soothingly. He turned his head to look at her, his chin still resting in his other hand as she gripped the one she was holding tightly. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and concern and what he knew was a desperate desire to take away his pain.

"I wish there was something I could do," she said, the truth in her words obvious. He managed a small smile after taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"You're doing plenty already," said Scorpius honestly. "I'm just glad it's not worse than it is right now. And there's always the chance that it doesn't get any worse."

Rose gave him a fortifying smile. "Best to think positive for now, right?"

Scorpius nodded, sitting up fully and holding both of her hands in his. "I'm probably going to need you to remind me to do that every now and then."

"I think I can manage that," she said, and he found himself smiling at the determined look on her face. He already felt lighter after having told her, and he realized he was silly for being nervous to do so in the first place. She smiled back at him as he leaned in closer to her, and their faces were only inches apart when he heard the front door open behind him. Scorpius let out a groan of disappointment.

"Rose? I'm heading home."

Rose smirked at him in amusement before she stood to say goodbye to Erin. While Scorpius would be seeing Rose the next day, Erin wouldn't be able to for a week. Rose was leaving after breakfast the next morning to stay with Teddy and Victoire for the week, while Erin went to stay with her sister Alice.

"I'll see you next Saturday?" said Erin as she hugged her best friend.

"Absolutely," said Rose as she released her. "Want to meet at mine before heading to the flat?"

Erin nodded before turning towards Scorpius, who stood to hug her as well. He knew this was going to be a rough few weeks for her. They were close to it being a year since her great-gran had passed, which was part of the reason she was going to stay with her sister in the first place.

The plan was for them to all head over to the flat that Erin and Rose were going to move into on the day they both came back from their visits. They'd still have another week before they moved in, but both girls wanted to get a feel for the place, as they had furniture and other necessities to buy. Scorpius and Al had been talked into joining them.

"Want to take me home?" Rose asked Scorpius after Erin had disappeared back inside to Floo home. She took his hand and laced her fingers between his.

"I'd love to," he said with a warm smile.

They popped back inside quickly to say their goodbyes, and then returned to the porch, walking a short distance to get outside of the wards that kept people from showing up at her aunt and uncle's house uninvited. With a quick spin, they were standing the exact same distance away from a house that was only slightly smaller than the one they'd just left, this one with a red brick exterior instead of white.

"Are you still coming for dinner on Monday?" Rose asked as they slowly strolled towards the house, hands still clasped tightly together.

"I wouldn't miss it," he assured her. "Mum and Dad aren't coming home till Wednesday anyway, so no reason why I can't be there."

Rose smiled at him, and he was grateful that she hadn't immediately turned more sympathetic at the mention of his parents. His biggest reason for hesitating to tell anyone was because he didn't want to receive looks of pity or for people to tread lightly whenever his mum came up in conversation. He should have known better than to think Rose would do anything other than what he needed her to do, which was to stay positive, just like he'd said.

"You know, Victoire has classes on Tuesday nights," said Rose, her tone a bit too innocent. "And Teddy is still pulling night shifts. It'll be awful lonely to be at their flat all by myself."

Scorpius' brow rose in surprise as she glanced at him with a challenging look in her eye.

"That'll be a shame," he said, keeping his tone even as he tried not to smirk. He held back a snort of amusement as Rose huffed and rolled her eyes. She stopped them just shy of the front steps, turning to face him with a slightly exasperated look on her face.

"Are you going to make me ask?"

Scorpius grinned at her. "Yes."

Rose rolled her eyes but still smiled at him. "Do you want to come over on Tuesday night? I feel like we haven't really had a chance to be alone since we got back. Could be nice, yeah?"

Scorpius thought it could be very nice, but he hesitated. "Are you sure that would be all right? Just the two of us? Alone in their flat?"

"Scor, we spent the whole year with a shared common room while sleeping only a room away from each other in complete privacy," Rose pointed out. "This isn't any different."

"Right," said Scorpius, chuckling lightly. "It just feels different, being out in the real world. I don't want to upset your parents or get Ted and Vic in trouble. I know we're of age, but I doubt your parents would let us spend the evening alone together in an empty house if they had a say."

Rose scrunched up her face in an adorably petulant way, knowing he made a good point.

"But," he said slowly, stepping towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist, "you'll have your own place to call home in two short weeks. They can't exactly have a say then."

Rose's face lit up with a smile as she wound her arms around his neck. "That's true. Although, we might have to work out some sort of system. I don't fancy walking in on Al and Erin all the time, and I don't want them doing that to us either."

Scorpius laughed at the look of distaste she wore at the thought. "Fair point. I can come over to the Lupins' on Tuesday if you'd like, but can you at least run it by Victoire first? I'd hate to cause you any trouble."

Rose sighed, her expression adoring yet slightly exasperated as she looked up at him, her fingers lightly tickling the nape of his neck. "You're such a gentleman."

"Would you rather I be a scoundrel?" he challenged, dropping his voice low enough so it almost sounded like a growl. Rose let out a giddy laugh.

"Maybe sometimes."

Scorpius quirked an eyebrow at her in question. "Yeah?"

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth before nodding, and that was all the encouragement Scorpius needed before he closed the very short remaining distance between them.

She tasted like the raspberry tart they'd had after dinner, mixed with whatever it was that was so familiar to him now and he could only describe as Rose. She sighed into the kiss, her whole body relaxing against his as he held her tightly to his chest. He flattened his palms against her back as she moved her mouth against his, her tongue coming out to swipe at his lower lip as she pulled it between her own. It was all he could do not to moan at the rush he felt from his head to his toes at the sensation.

It could have been seconds or even hours before the sound of someone rapping sharply against what sounded like a glass door reached Scorpius' ears. He reluctantly pulled away, trying to reorient himself to his surroundings as Rose - who didn't appear to have heard the racket - began to trail kisses along his jaw. Scorpius gave a nervous gulp when he found the source of the noise.

"Rose," he said in an effort to get her attention. She merely hummed against his cheek in response as she tightened her arms around his neck and nipped at his ear with her teeth. He shivered despite the rather warm evening.

"Rose," he tried again, his hands moving to her hips so he could push her away, "your dad."

She froze in her movements, her hands clutching at his hair and her mouth stilling against his neck. He barely had time to blink before she turned around and looked up at the house, her eyes immediately going to where her dad had pulled aside the curtain and was staring at them through the front window. While he didn't seem angry, he didn't seem very impressed either.

Rose let out a huff before waving sarcastically at her father, who raised a questioning brow at her. Scorpius fought very hard against smiling as Rose propped her hands on her hips and wore what he assumed was a rather sassy look as she hollered up at him.

"I'll be in in a minute!"

Ron hesitated for a few seconds longer before nodding and walking away from the window. Scorpius chuckled as Rose sighed and turned back to face him. "See?" he couldn't help but say. "It's a different world when there are parents looking over your shoulder."

Rose rolled her eyes before wrapping her arms around his waist and pushing herself up onto her toes to drop a light kiss on his lips. "I'll check with Vic and let you know when you come over to theirs for dinner on Monday."

Scorpius smiled before returning her kiss as he brushed her hair away from her face. "Brilliant. You still want me to come over in the morning for breakfast?"

Rose nodded before hugging him tightly one last time. He released her reluctantly before she turned and walked up the steps, pausing after opening the door to give him one last wave and a small smile before going into the house.

Scorpius couldn't keep a smile off his face as he made his way back to the edge of the wards before apparating home and landing in his bedroom. He let out a content sigh, already missing Rose but enjoying the solitude after such an eventful day. His trunk was sitting at the end of his bed, still mostly packed from school. He hadn't wanted to unpack, hoping it would be fruitless. He smiled to himself, realizing he'd been right to prepare to move out soon. There were still a few weeks till he and Al moved into the Auror housing, but he planned on continuing to live out of his trunk until then, no matter what his mother might have to say about it.

That had been something she'd insisted on after telling Scorpius about her illness. He wasn't allowed to treat her or their relationship differently, the only exception to this being that he was allowed to want to spend more time together if he felt the desire to do so. He'd never really unpacked his trunk before, no matter how much she'd pestered him to, so he saw no reason to change his behavior now.

It wasn't until after he'd changed into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt and was ready to settle in with a good book for the night that he heard a rather large crash coming from the direction of the kitchen. The House Elves they employed had been given the week off, meaning Scorpius had the place to himself. The wards were set so that family members and those who'd visited before were welcome to come and go - a relaxed security that his father had been relieved to have after being stuck in the place for two years while serving his house arrest - so it could be any number of people banging around in the kitchen.

Making sure he had his wand in his pocket, Scorpius quietly made his way through the dark hall and down the stairs. He heard another crash and a mumbled curse, the voice familiar enough for him to relax a bit. Once he reached the kitchen, he pushed the door open slowly, immediately seeing various metal mixing bowls and pots and pans scattered on the clean, white tiled floor. When his eyes landed on the intruder, his brow rose in surprise.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked abruptly, causing his cousin to jump in surprise and nearly drop the pan he was holding.

"I - er - wanted some popcorn," Corbin said guiltily, the words almost coming out as a question. He was dressed just as casually as Scorpius, who continued to look at his cousin questioningly.

"And you can't make it at your house because…?"

"Because Mum thinks it's undignified and she and your mum have barely gone a day without crying," Corbin explained. "I don't fancy giving her another thing to be upset about."

Scorpius sighed as he fully entered the kitchen, his mood turning more somber once again as he waved his wand and all the pots and pans that had fallen on the floor flew to the shelf that Corbin had knocked them off of in his attempt to get his hands on the proper one.

"Plus," Corbin continued as he made his way over to the stove, "I figured you could use some company. This house is kind of creepy when it's empty."

The somber mood in the room lifted a bit as Corbin let out a dramatic shiver. Scorpius moved to join him, waving his wand once again so the jar of popcorn came flying out of the pantry and into his hand.

"Show off," Corbin grumbled. Scorpius laughed.

"You're allowed to do magic now too," Scorpius reminded him.

Corbin's eyes widened in surprise before he cursed himself for his own stupidity. Scorpius just shook his head in amusement as he turned on the stove and dropped a couple of kernels into the pan.

"You should come visit soon," Corbin said, walking over to the island and hoisting himself up to sit on it. "The girls have been asking about you since your parents got there."

"Blimey, they're six now, yeah? How're they doing?" Scorpius asked with a smile as he turned to face his cousin and leaned back against the counter next to the stove.

"Well, Evie has it in her head that she wants to be a Centaur when she grows up, so that's been fun. And Emma's been doing this thing where she sneaks into my room all the time and takes things. So it would really be nice if you could, like, come distract them for a day. Maybe even take them out somewhere. I bet our mums would appreciate it."

The most innocent expression grew on Corbin's face at these words. Scorpius gave him a pointed look. "The mum card? Really?"

Corbin merely shrugged unapologetically as the first few kernels popped. With another shake of his head, Scorpius turned to dump more kernels into the pan.

"You could make a day of it," Corbin continued. "Take Rose along. I bet she'd love that. Get to see your paternal side and all that. Girls like that shite, right?"

Scorpius let out a snort. "It's a wonder you can ever get a girlfriend."

"I've never had a girlfriend in my life," Corbin said with a scoff.

"Seriously?" Scorpius asked, throwing a questioning glance over his shoulder at his cousin. "I seem to recall half a dozen dates to Hogsmeade over the years that at least lasted longer than a day. Not to mention whatever it is you've got going on with Charlotte Bray."

"Oh," said Corbin with a dismissive tone, "we were just having a bit of fun."

"_Were?" _Scorpius clarified. "You're not still seeing her?"

"Not really," he said nonchalantly. "We'd never really defined anything, and we decided there was no point in doing so with the timing."

"What about when you go back to school?"

"Hell if I know. If I feel like it, maybe I'll think about starting something up with her again."

Scorpius waited for the popcorn to finish popping, melting some butter that he then poured over it along with just the right amount of salt. He dumped it into a bowl that he summoned from a nearby shelf and placed it on the island next to Corbin. His cousin dug in eagerly as Scorpius grabbed them each a butterbeer.

"How does she feel about that?" Scorpius asked as he leaned against the counter next to his cousin. Corbin shrugged and ran a hand through his close-cropped dark hair.

"She seemed cool about it. To be honest, though, she's the first girl I've ever seriously considered really dating."

He dropped into silent contemplation, and Scorpius let him, intrigued to hear what else he might confess.

"I don't know, though," he said, taking the cap off his butterbeer and taking a quick swig. "I get the feeling Riley doesn't like her."

Scorpius let out an amused snort. "Does Riley like anyone?"

A crooked grin appeared on Corbin's face and he gave a slight chuckle. "Good point. This seems different, though. She's given Charlotte some dirty looks, but she doesn't even make fun of her or make snide comments. She's never been shy about commenting on the girls I've hung around in the past, but she's had surprisingly little to say on the subject this time around."

"To you, at least."

The words were out of Scorpius mouth before he'd even fully thought them through. He realized his mistake when his cousin looked at him with eager, wide eyes. "What's she said?"

"Nothing much," said Scorpius, putting on his best innocent expression as he shoved some popcorn into his mouth. "Just that it's what you do. You find a girl you like, flirt a little, get a few snogs in, and then move on. She also might have called you a dimwit."

Corbin frowned and grabbed a few more pieces of popcorn. "Do I really do that a lot?"

He sounded vulnerable as he asked the question, and Scorpius found he couldn't tease him for it. "A bit. It's enough of a pattern that the people closest to you have picked up on it."

Corbin nodded and took another drink of his butterbeer, downing about half of it before speaking up again. "Maybe she's just gotten used to it, then. Or doesn't care anymore. Maybe that's why she hasn't said anything."

"Or maybe she could tell that you actually liked this one," said Scorpius. "She's a good friend, Cor. And she may act like she doesn't care, and maybe she doesn't the majority of the time, but from what I've seen, you're one of the exceptions."

The only sound for a few minutes was chewing as Corbin contemplated his cousin's words.

"And maybe," Scorpius continued, hoping he wasn't about to regret his next words, "she cares more than either of you know."

Corbin's eyes widened as they snapped to his cousin. Scorpius had picked up on the subtleties of Corbin's relationship with Riley over the years. One of the reasons he'd known about her before he even met her was because she was friends with his cousin. He'd never approved of the friendship in the past, but he now found himself unable to think of anyone who would be a better friend for his cousin to have. And based on some of the looks he'd seen on Riley's face once Corbin had started paying more attention to Charlotte, she actually cared about where his attention was. Maybe it could be explained away by her not wanting to lose her friend, but there was always the chance there was more to it than that, even if Riley didn't know it herself.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Scor?" said Corbin, his words containing shock and disbelief and even a bit of anger. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's probably true," he said calmly. "At least to some extent. I just don't want you to do something to hurt her, like ditch her when you finally _do _get a girlfriend. She doesn't have a lot of actual friends, so make sure you're a good one to her."

Corbin nodded, a small smile returning to his face. "You scared me there for a minute. I thought you were saying she fancied me or something."

He chuckled uncomfortably, and Scorpius smirked. "I fell for my best friend, so you never know."

Corbin scowled good naturedly at his cousin, and Scorpius laughed, dodging the towel that Corbin grabbed off the counter and chucked at him. "Can we change the subject, please?"

Scorpius nodded, continuing to chuckle as he grabbed the bowl of popcorn and his butterbeer. "Come on. You can help me start packing."

"For what?" Corbin asked in confusion as he hopped off the counter and followed his cousin out of the kitchen.

"As of today, I'm officially an Auror-in-training, which means I get to move into Auror Academy housing," said Scorpius, unable to keep a smile off his face. He turned to walk backwards so he could look at the gobsmacked expression on his cousin's face. "I'm moving out."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoy chapter two! I was hesitant about including Astoria's health issues at first, but it ended up making sense with some other plot points and decided to give it my own spin. **

**I'm planning on my next update being the first chapter of the Lily/Hugo/Louis spinoff, so make sure you're following me if you want to catch that update!**


	3. You better let somebody love you

It had been a long week.

Lily was barely speaking to anyone, Rose was off with Teddy and Victoire, and Erin was spending time with her sister. The only people Al had really been around were James and Scorpius, the former spending most of the week preoccupied with finding a flat to move into after coming home to a disaster created by Fred and Lysander one too many times. He'd been trying to move out for months, and Al had even helped him pack over Easter, but it had been nearly impossible to do during the end of the Quidditch season. Al had helped in the search a bit over the last few days, but James cared more about what Violet thought than anyone else's opinion, so Al had mostly stayed out of his brother's way.

He'd spent some time at Malfoy Manor, especially during those first few days of the week when Scorpius' parents were still visiting with his aunt and uncle. His best friend had finally opened up about what was going on with his mother, and while he seemed to be handling it well, Scorpius appeared to appreciate Al's company as well as Corbin's, who was there more often than not during those few days too. But once his parents came home, Al had steered clear, giving Scorpius some time with his mum and dad.

Staying away from Hogsmeade had proved difficult. Al had asked Erin before she left if he could see her at some point during the week, but since Alice had told her it would just be the two of them and that even Malcolm wouldn't be around all week, she thought it would be best to keep things that way, seeing as the trip was supposed to be about the two sisters spending time together. He tried not to let this decision disappoint him too much, and the fact that Erin assured him she'd miss him terribly and proved that with a rather thorough kiss goodnight the day before she left gave him comfort. It also made him impatient for her to return.

But not having Erin around had turned out to have its perks. While it wasn't something he'd normally attempt to do, he'd been able to be there for his sister. After Lily's anger towards him had dissipated and he'd managed to calm her down, Al seemed to be the only one she was okay with talking to. Both parents had tried, but were met with stony silence and the occasional nod or shake of the head when they asked her questions. James had even made a brief attempt to talk to her, suggesting she try talking to Hugo again - which she'd attempted the morning after her break up - but she'd scowled at her eldest brother across the dinner table and he'd stayed away since.

On the whole, she hadn't even talked to Al much either, but most nights over the course of the week, she'd come into his room in the evening and sit on his bed while he was busy packing things up to move into the Auror Academy housing or writing a letter to Erin. Mostly, she'd sit there quietly, occasionally asking him a question or making a comment, but it seemed that his presence was what comforted her. This was a bit surprising to Al. It wasn't like they weren't close, but of all the people she could have turned to in the absence of Hugo, he hadn't expected to be the first choice. Then again, maybe he wasn't. Hugo wasn't her only strained relationship.

So, again, it had been a long week, which meant that waking up when the sun had barely begun to make an appearance on a Friday morning was not something that Al was eager to do. Yet it had managed to happen anyway.

"Dad, what the hell is so important?" Al grumbled, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes as he followed his dad into the kitchen. He'd knocked on his door and dragged him out of bed only minutes ago, saying he wanted to show Al something before he left for work.

"I have meetings in France all weekend, so I wanted to do this before I left," Harry explained as he opened the door that led to the garage, turning on the lights as Al followed grumpily behind him. "I figured it's been sitting in here for too long."

At these words, Al froze, his eyes opening fully as he watched his dad walk around to the other side of the family car. Al knew exactly what was under the tarp next to the black sedan.

"You're joking, right?" he asked in disbelief. Harry looked up at Al once he stood on the other side of the tarp-covered object, his hand resting on the front of it as he grinned at his son.

"Nope," he said. "Took me awhile to convince your mum, but she came around. Wanna take a look?"

Al nodded, unable to keep from grinning as he made his way over to his father just as he pulled away the tarp. The bike looked just as it had the last time he'd seen his dad take it out, the chrome shining and the leather seat nearly pristine. There were still places where you could tell it had been used, like the wear on the handles, but it had been kept in fantastic shape.

"When Arthur let me have this a few months after the war, I didn't think I was ever going to touch it," Harry explained, looking at the motorbike fondly. "There was so much to be getting on with and a million things to be done. We had a lot to recover from, and at that point, it reminded me of a lot of things I didn't want to think about; Sirius, the night Mad-Eye died...even my parents, in a way. It wasn't until I started Auror training that I started working on it."

"I thought Granddad fixed it," Al said in confusion.

"He got it started," said Harry. "But, seeing as it was Sirius' and technically mine, he thought it only right I should decide what happened to it. I kept it in the shed at the Burrow, and whenever the job got to be too much to handle or I just needed some space to process things, I studied up on the mechanics and worked on the bike. And once I got it fully functioning again, I'd ride."

He directed his gaze away from the bike and towards his son. "I'm proud of you, Albus. Your mum and I both are. But I know first hand how difficult this is going to be. The next three years of your life might not be quite the same as mine were at your age, but they won't be easy. Those moments when I was able to go out to the shed and work on the bike or go for a ride to clear my head - they helped. A lot. And I want you to be able to do the same."

Al's jaw dropped in shock as his dad pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, casually tossing them to his youngest son, who caught them at the last second.

"You're fucking kidding me," Al said in disbelief. Harry laughed.

"Nope," he said. "It's yours."

"What!?" Al nearly shouted. "You're giving it to me? I thought you were just going to let me ride it!"

Harry shook his head, pride obvious on his face as he looked at Al. "I figured I should do the thing right if I was going to do it at all. Besides, I'm too old for it anyway."

Al laughed, stepping forward to grip the handlebar as he twirled the keys around his finger. He couldn't believe it. For years he and James had tried to get their dad to let them take out the bike, and now it was all his.

The thought of his brother made Al stop short.

"What about James?" Al asked uncertainly. His dad waved dismissively.

"He'll be fine. He got Sirius' name. I feel it's only right you get his bike. Besides, I'm pretty sure he swiped the map from Teddy, so he's got something. Anyway, I trust your brother much more in the air than I do on the ground. You're much better with the car than he's ever been. "

Al laughed, ignoring for a moment who actually possessed the map and focusing instead on remembering the many failed attempts that his dad had made to teach his older brother how to drive. He'd eventually gotten the hang of it, but Al was still hesitant to go anywhere in the car if James was driving.

"You're sure about this?" Al couldn't help asking.

"I am," Harry said with a nod. "But there are a few conditions."

He looked at Al pointedly, and even though he was now of age, he had a feeling his father would always have the ability to get him to fall in line.

"First, it's a good way to let off steam, but I don't ever want you doing anything reckless. If you're so worked up you can't see straight or too distraught to make wise choices, I don't want you on it. Second, I know you're going to want to take your girlfriend for a ride, but just remember that she will be the most precious cargo you ever carry, and you'll have not only me to answer to should you endanger her life, but you'll have to answer to Neville as well. Got it?"

Al nodded vigorously.

"Also," Harry continued. "Don't let anyone else talk you into letting them drive it. Especially your siblings. Now, it's still in my name and it will remain that way until I'm confident you can handle this. Break any of the rules I've laid out and I revoke all bike privileges, alright?"

Al nodded once again. "Sounds fair."

Harry gave him a satisfied smile. "I know there's nowhere for you to keep it where you'll be living, so it can stay here. You can take it out whenever you like."

"Brilliant," said Al, grinning as he moved to straddle the motorbike.

"I have about an hour before I have to leave," said Harry, glancing at his watch as Al situated himself on the bike. "Think you can learn how to ride in that amount of time?"

"Hell yes," Al said enthusiastically, and his dad rolled his eyes. "Let's see what this beautiful beast can do."

Harry laughed as Al found the ignition. He slid in the key, but his dad placing a hand on his shoulder made him stop and look up.

"I know I've already said this, but I really am proud of you," Harry said sincerely. "You worked really hard to be where you are, and I want you to know that I see that. And so does everyone else. You're becoming an Auror entirely on your own merit, and I don't want you to ever forget that."

Al felt his chest tighten and a lump rise in his throat. He knew that becoming an Auror had been his dream because it was the only thing he could see himself doing that seemed worthwhile. And he felt like he'd be good at it. But he couldn't deny that a small part of him had always wanted to make his dad proud. Had dreamt of this exact moment when his father would look him in the eye and tell him he'd done it all himself, and that he couldn't be more proud.

"Thanks, Dad," he said with a strained voice, clearing his throat a moment later and looking away from the penetrating green eyes that he'd inherited. "Hope you can still say that when I demolish all your training records."

Harry laughed, slapping Al on the shoulder as he shook his head in amusement. "Don't get _too _cocky. No one's been able to do it yet."

Al grinned cheekily at him, pausing in his attempt to turn on the bike as he remembered one of his father's earlier comments. "Dad? About the map?"

Harry crossed his arms and quirked an unimpressed brow at Al's guilty expression. "You stole it from James, didn't you?"

Al gave his father an innocent grin. "One might say it was the Marauder thing to do."

Harry rolled his eyes and let out an amused snort. "Whatever makes you feel better."

"Actually, I was thinking about giving it to Lily," said Al. His dad looked at him in surprise.

"Really?"

Al nodded. "I figure she could use a pick me up, but I wanted to run it by you first."

Harry chuckled. "That map has never changed hands due to the consent of a parent, so let's pretend I don't know anything, and you can make the decision on your own. I have a feeling Lily will be even more pleased if she thinks she's getting away with something."

Al laughed. "Maybe I should let her steal it, then. Make it even more exciting for her."

"No offense to your sister, but she's not the sneakiest. I doubt she'd be able to get away with that even if you tried to let her."

"True," Al said with a chuckle. "It wasn't exactly that difficult to pick up on the fact that something was going on when she started seeing Wood."

"I saw them together on Christmas Eve," Harry said with a smirk. "They weren't exactly subtle."

They both chuckled before falling silent, both caught up in thoughts of what Lily was going through.

"You know, I broke up with your mother once."

Al's brow rose in surprise. "Seriously?"

Harry nodded. "I know we basically tell the story like we were together during the war, but… well, we weren't. I ended things with her at the end of my sixth year. Ron and Hermione and I were about to go off and hunt Horcruxes, and while I couldn't talk them out of putting their lives in danger, I wasn't about to put her in that position. I did it to protect her and because I thought it was what was best for her, even though she wasn't happy about it. And based off of everything that I've heard about what went on at the end of term, Caleb might be doing the same. In some way."

"Lily's life wasn't exactly in danger because of their relationship," Al pointed out.

"No," Harry agreed, "but all her other relationships are, and that's not something to take lightly."

Al nodded, contemplating his father's words and thinking about how the strained relationships surrounding him had taken a toll on multiple people the past few months.

"This thing with Erin," Harry began abruptly, seeming a bit uncomfortable with the topic but plugging ahead anyway. "It's…serious, yeah?"

Al's eyes widened in surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"I know you, Al," his dad said with a pointed look. "You told me on more than one occasion that you had no intention of letting a relationship distract you from your dreams of becoming an Auror. I'm willing to bet you like her a hell of a lot if you changed your mind."

Al grinned nervously. "I might have been a bit dishonest about my reasoning," he said, realizing he'd have to elaborate when his father looked at him expectantly. "It was more that I didn't want to bother dating when I knew the life I wanted to live wouldn't be an easy one. I wasn't about to let myself get caught up in a that was doomed to fail as soon as the real world came along and she couldn't deal with the fact that I risked my life most days. Not to mention there's always the possibility she could end up in harm's way as well. That's not something just anyone could handle. Didn't feel like any of that was worth the risk. Does that sound mad?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Sounds like _me_."

Al and his father shared a smile. "So what changed?" Harry asked. "I mean, you obviously didn't stick to your resolution."

Al let out a deep sigh. "I'm not sure even _I_ know how it happened. For a while, we were just having fun," he admitted, refusing to meet his father's eyes. "I kept myself...distant, emotionally, until she proved to me that I didn't have to have all those fears I'd held onto for so long. At least not when it came to her. And she didn't even have to try. It might sound mad, but I don't think anything's made more sense to me in the world than her."

When Al finally worked up the courage to meet his father's eyes again, he was a bit surprised by the gobsmacked expression he wore.

"Wow," Harry said after a slightly uncomfortable moment of silence. "I didn't expect that."

Al's smile was tinted with embarrassment. "I didn't either."

"She can handle it?" Harry asked. Al gave a shrug, unable to keep from grinning.

"She's not just anyone."

Harry grinned at his son. "You've got it bad, mate."

"Shut up," Al grumbled, resting his hands on the handlebars again as his dad chuckled.

"I'm not judging," Harry assured him. "I was the same way when I was your age."

"Dad, can we move on, please?" Al begged, thankful when his dad took pity on him.

"Fine, and I'm not the best at this stuff, but just know that if you ever _do _want to talk about your relationship-"

"I know, I know," Al said impatiently. "I can always come to you."

Harry smirked and clapped a hand on his son's shoulder. "Enough of that now. Let's get you on the road."

* * *

"I can't believe he let you have the bike," said Lily as Al prepared to go meet Erin, Rose, and Scorpius the next day. She seemed equally jealous and impressed that Al had managed to accomplish something that both of her brothers had failed to do in the past. Al shrugged as he pulled his leather jacket out of his closet.

"You know Dad, though," he told his sister. "It wasn't without conditions."

Lily gave an amused snort and rolled her eyes. "What, like you have to drive it under the speed limit?"

"No," said Al teasingly. "Like I'm not allowed to let _you _drive it."

Lily scowled at him and crossed her arms before sinking back into his pillows. He'd taken the bike out into the driveway that morning so he could wash it and make sure it was ready to go, and his sister had immediately found him in his room after he'd come inside, having seen what he was doing through the window.

"You'll let me ride with you, though, right?" she asked. "Dad let me ride with him a few times."

Al sighed, acting annoyed but in too good of a mood to really be bothered by anything. "I suppose so," he allowed, and Lily's scowl disappeared slightly. She didn't smile. He hadn't seen her smile in days. The protective older brother in him wanted to fix that. "I have something for you too."

Lily's brow rose in question as Al laid his jacket at the foot of the bed, grabbing his school bag that he'd yet to clean out since being home, and going to sit on the edge of the bed. "I don't really have a use for this now, since I won't be going back," he said as he dug through his bag. Lily sat forward a bit in anticipation, her eyes widening in shock as he produced a blank, folded, beat up piece of parchment.

"Are you serious?" she asked uncertainly, not quite believing her eyes. Al met her questioning gaze before nodding his head.

"A few weeks ago, I doubt I would be doing this right now," he admitted. "I know I haven't alway been the best brother, but I've always wanted to protect you, you know? I never saw giving you the map as a good idea, but it wasn't like James or me having it ever led to much good, so why shouldn't you be allowed the same privilege?"

She wasn't smiling yet, but Al could tell she was close.

"I know having this would mean a lot to you," he continued, "so I want you to have it. Just don't tell anyone I gave it to you. I'd like to keep my reputation of being your obnoxious older brother."

With a smirk, he handed the map to his younger sister, who took it with a look of awe on her face. She stared at it, running her hands over it in an almost worshipful way. And then she was looking up at her brother and smiling the first smile she'd let out in a week.

"Thank you," she said before getting on her knees and moving so she could throw her arms around Al's neck in a tight hug.

"You're welcome," he said as he squeezed her back tightly. "Just don't lose it."

"Never," said Lily, releasing him and moving so they sat side-by-side, their legs dangling off the bed as Lily continued to look at the map in her hands. "You're making progress in the older brother department. You might even slide ahead of James."

"Oi!" he said in mock indignation, nudging her with his elbow as she chuckled. "I'm definitely a better brother than that wanker. I had to actually steal the map from him, and he probably wouldn't have passed it on to you if I hadn't."

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, her smile leaving her face almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"You going to be all right?" Al asked, relieved to see that Lily only hesitated a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Thanks, by the way. You didn't have to put up with me this week, but you did anyway."

Al smiled and rubbed her back soothingly before putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side. "You're welcome," he said before kissing the top of her head. "Besides, you're only going to be my problem for a few more weeks now. Reckon I better get in as much of you as I can."

Lily sighed as she relaxed into him a little more, her arms winding around his waist as he rubbed up and down her arm soothingly.

"It'll be weird," she said softly. "Being there without you."

Al let out a sigh and rested his cheek on the top of her head, realizing how much he really was going to miss his little sister once she returned to Hogwarts. With all she'd been dealing with the past week, he knew she would appreciate him being honest. So, rather than making a joke and laughing off the tender moment, he simply said, "I'll miss you too."

She leaned further into his side, a deep and shaky sigh escaping her.

"I don't think I can go through all of this without him," she said in a soft voice, and Al could tell she was close to crying, if she wasn't doing so already.

"Caleb?" he asked, knowing without having to ask that she was mostly referring to life in general rather than anything specific. All of it was a bit rough at the moment. He was a bit surprised when Lily shook her head against his chest.

"Hugo."

Al sighed, pain on his sister's behalf clenching at his gut. He kissed the top of her head again and held her tight, knowing there really wasn't anything he could do or say to make it better.

The closest thing he could compare his sister's relationship with Hugo to was the one he had with Rose. Thinking over the past school year, he couldn't imagine how he would have gotten through all of it without her. Yes, she'd been a pain in the arse a few times, but there was no way he would have been able to keep his head on straight without her in his life. He definitely would have screwed things up with Erin in an irreparable way, and he never would have been able to handle everything that went on with Scorpius.

But as close as he was with Rose, he had Scorpius and Erin too. He couldn't imagine getting through the year if either of them were missing as well. It was the four of them together that made the most sense. And while he knew Lily had other friends as well, it wasn't the same. She had Lucy and Charlotte, and even though they all referred to each other as best friends, Al knew that Lily had always been a little bit on the outside of that friendship. And Bobby had always been more Hugo's friend than hers.

The bond she shared with Hugo was strong and unique. He was almost more of a brother to her than Al was at times. It reminded him of the type of closeness he'd sometimes seen in Fred and Roxanne. He couldn't even begin to count the number of times people had asked if Hugo and Lily were twins.

They were some of the best friends Al had ever seen, and he hoped desperately that they'd find some way to make things right. Because he knew that nothing would ever take the place of Hugo in Lily's life.

* * *

**A/N: We've officially branched away from just Rose and Scorpius pov! I mean, I have before, but not within the main story! Exciting times. Hope you enjoyed this! the scene with Harry was something I'd had in mind for a while and actually helped give me the push to continue with the sequel since I really wanted to write it. Next week we hear from Erin and Rose! But you might have a snapshot heading your way before then ;)**

**Please keep the reviews coming! I'm working on getting better at responding to them, but they really do help and are so appreciated!**


	4. I want to know if love is wild

In exactly one month, Erin Longbottom will have spent a year without her great-grandmother.

There'd been times throughout the past eleven months when she'd been so preoccupied with other things, that a day would go by where she'd barely had a thought about her gran. Of course, it had been months before that happened. And then there were the times when it felt like it was the only thing she could think about all day. Like everything around her reminded her of her great-gran. Or of her absence. She knew the summer was going to be full of those days.

It was a relief to be spending time away from her childhood home. That place was full of reminders. Alice's flat in Hogsmeade would only serve to stir up memories because of the quilt her gran had made or the tea set she used to drink from. But it wasn't a place Gran had ever been. It didn't hold tangible memories.

It was with a grateful attitude that Erin flooed into her sister's flat the morning after the celebratory dinner at the Potters'. She arrived a bit earlier than expected, so it wasn't much of a surprise that her sister wasn't there to welcome her, but it didn't seem like she was even up.

Erin kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag on the armchair by the fire. It was only half past eight, but she'd always known Alice to be up at early hours. Sometimes with the sun.

Curious, Erin made her way towards her sister's closed bedroom door, fully intent on knocking. But the sound of her sister giggling made her pause, her eyes widening when she heard a distinctly male voice follow her sister's laugh.

She'd just walked in on her older sister in bed with her boyfriend.

Erin stood frozen in a combined state of shock and giddy delight. She felt slightly guilty about the fact that her sister would be embarrassed, but she had every intention of not rubbing it in. At least not too much. It was about time her sister had someone that made her so happy she didn't want to get out of bed in the morning.

Smirking at the events that were about to unfold, Erin knocked on the door. There was a sharp intake of breath and the voices on the other side quieted immediately.

"Alice?" Erin asked, trying desperately to keep the laughter out of her voice. There was what sounded like a mad scuffling of blankets and clothes accompanied by harsh whispers, and then the door opened and Alice stepped out of her room, closing the door tightly behind her.

Erin took in her sister's appearance. She was wearing her favorite purple dressing gown and what looked like nothing underneath. Her brown hair was a bit disheveled and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"You're early," said Alice, her eyes wide as she gave her sister a nervous smile.

"Sorry," Erin said pleasantly. "I'm still used to getting up early from school so I was up anyway. Plus, I was excited to spend time with you."

Erin almost felt bad when Alice's smile turned guilty, but she laughed instead. "I'll put on some tea. Want to ask your boyfriend to join us?"

Alice's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. Erin smirked before walking over to the kitchen, allowing her sister to escape back into her bedroom. Less than five minutes later, Alice and Malcolm appeared in the kitchen, fully dressed and with slightly sheepish expressions.

"Good morning, Professor," Erin said smugly. She chuckled when Malcolm cringed and took a seat at the counter.

"Please don't call me that anymore," he said. "You're no longer my student, and I'd rather you call me Malcolm."

"I think I can do that," said Erin with a friendly smile. "Breakfast, Alice?"

While Malcolm had started to relax, Alice still seemed a bit on edge. She was standing at the edge of the kitchen, almost as if she couldn't decide whether to join her sister or sit with her boyfriend.

"Ally, Relax," Erin said with an amused roll of her eyes. "I'm not so innocent as to think your boyfriend never stays the night. You shouldn't' have had him over if you didn't want me to know what you get up to."

Alice's cheeks turned a bit pink and she cleared her throat nervously as she moved fully into the kitchen and began pulling out eggs, sausages, and bread. "I know. We didn't exactly plan…"

She trailed off nervously. Erin smirked as Malcolm rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably. She placed a cup of tea in front of him, catching his eye and giving him an encouraging smile. "Enjoying your time off?" she asked him.

"Most definitely," he said with a smile. "I'm trying to talk your sister into taking a week or two off so we can take a little holiday."

"You should!" said Erin, turning to look at her sister in excitement. "You can do that, right?"

"I suppose," Alice said with a shrug and a small smile. "I'd just need to make sure things were covered here. Rosmerta told me she's always willing to come back if I need to get away for a while. She knows it can be tiring to forever be in Hogsmeade. Gets a little dull."

"Not so much with me around, though, right?" Malcolm said with a grin. Alice rolled her eyes but was unable to keep a smile off her face.

"Yes, the first couple of months were _much _duller than the last few have been," said Alice. The words were teasing, but Erin could tell that they were actually rather honest. Knowing how much her sister appreciated having someone around made her even more thankful for Malcolm.

They ate a comfortable breakfast together before Malcolm left and headed to visit with his parents and sisters for the week. Erin grinned as she watched Alice timidly kiss him goodbye, obviously not fully comfortable doing so in front of her sister. What grabbed Erin's attention, however, was Malcolm's wide grin when he told Alice he'd be home the following Saturday before flooing away.

"Where's he living?" Erin asked. "Is he staying at the school during the summer?"

Alice didn't answer, obviously uncomfortable with the question, leaving Erin to come to the only logical conclusion.

"He's staying _here?" _she asked incredulously. Alice's cheeks turned pink as she grabbed Erin's bag that she'd left in the chair by the fire.

"He might be," Alice said with a shrug. Erin watched with a dropped jaw and a raised eyebrow as her sister took the bag into the bedroom. When she returned to the sitting room, she sat on the couch with a resigned sigh, gesturing to a still gobsmacked Erin to join her. "I suppose I can't get out of talking about this, can I?"

Erin sat with a bit of an annoyed huff. "Are you saying you wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't walked in on you in bed together? Is it really that much of a struggle to talk to me?"

Erin knew she'd failed to hide the hurt in her voice. It had been a rather isolated incident when Alice had opened up to her the day of Teddy and Victoire's wedding. While Erin had known some of the details surrounding her sister's past with Liam Smith thanks to her mother, her sister had barely spoken a word to her about it. Any particulars about the situation had been unknown to her before a few months ago. For a long time, Erin had assumed she and Alice were close simply based on the fact that they were sisters who spent time together. It wasn't until she was older and she realized how little her sister had told her over the years that she discovered it wasn't as true as she'd like it to be.

Alice gave her sister a guilty smile. "I'm still getting used to being more open. And I know I should be able to talk to you. I _want _to be able to talk to you. But you saw how long it took me to be open enough to be with Malcolm. I've been so closed off for so long. It just doesn't come naturally, I suppose."

"But I'm your sister," said Erin. "If you're able to talk to anyone, it should be me."

"I know," said Alice. "I think I'm also getting used to the fact that you're grown up now and we can actually talk about real life stuff. It's nice, though. Almost feels like we're closer in age than we used to be."

A grin formed on Erin's face, warmth filling her as she felt the bond she had with her sister strengthen. "Well, I'm glad. Because it makes it harder for me to open up when I know you won't do the same."

An intrigued look crossed Alice's face, and she sat back against the arm of the couch, turning to face her sister as Erin copied her movements, both recognizing they were settling in for what could be a lengthy chat.

"I never want you to feel like you can't talk to me," said Alice. "So what's been going on? We didn't really have the chance to talk much this term."

This was true. While the two sisters had seen each other during the times Alice had come up to the school and Erin had come to Hogsmeade, they hadn't really been able to catch up since the last time Erin had made a visit specifically to see her sister. They'd gone shopping with Rose while Alice filled them in on what had happened at the wedding after they'd left her alone with Malcolm, as well as the status of her relationship with said professor. It hadn't been that deep of a conversation, and Erin had avoided the topic of Al, even though Alice had asked. That was still a few weeks before they were actually together. Alice had been there during the debacle that was her birthday dinner, but had been a bit too distracted by her own boyfriend to really notice what had happened. She'd been unaware of the change in her sister's relationship until Erin had told her in passing a few weeks later when she was at the castle for dinner.

"A lot's changed this year, hasn't it?" said Erin as she thought over the last term. "I definitely didn't expect either of us to be where we are right now."

"And where is that, exactly?" asked Alice. Erin shrugged her shoulders and gave her sister a small smile.

"Happy," she said simply. "Excited about where we are in life. I was so devastated when we lost Gran that I didn't think I'd be able to ever really move on with my life and truly enjoy it. And I know you felt stuck where you were at the Ministry. Did you see all this coming a year ago?"

Alice chuckled and shook her head. "Not exactly. And I have to admit that I was worried about how you'd handle Gran's death. I'm a bit surprised you're doing this well, honestly."

A content smile formed on Erin's lips. "As strange as it may sound, I think we really have Al to thank for that."

Alice's eyebrows practically disappeared into her hair. "Really? The same boy you complained about at the beginning of the school year because you thought he didn't care about you?"

Erin rolled her eyes and stretched her leg across the couch to nudge her sister with her foot while she grinned teasingly at her. "Maybe."

"I think it's time I heard the whole story," said Alice, grabbing her wand from the table beside the couch and summoning their cups of tea, giving them each a tap to warm them.

"Can I ask a question first?" asked Erin. Alice nodded. "Are you in love with Malcolm?"

Whatever Alice had been expecting, it had not been this question. Her eyes widened in shock and she nearly choked on her tea. "What?" she asked once she managed to stop coughing. "Why?"

"Look, I know you're my older sister, but can you put aside your protective instincts and just give me some advice?" Erin asked. "Because I could really use some."

Alice nodded, her expression serious. "All right. What's up?"

"First, can you answer my question?" asked Erin. "Do you love Malcolm?"

Alice took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as her eyes grew watery at the strength of her emotions. She failed to hold back a bright smile as she nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Erin let out a breathy laugh, smiling at her sister, who laughed as well and wiped at her eyes. "Merlin, what a mess," said Alice through her laughter. "Who'd have thought love would be so overwhelming and crazy."

"I know what you mean," said Erin, smiling understandingly at her sister. Alice's laughter and tears died down, and she fully registered Erin's words.

"You do?" she asked with a surprised smile. Erin nodded, and both sisters dissolved into laughter once again, a few joyful tears falling as well.

"You were right," said Alice once they'd managed to calm down. "I don't think I saw any of this coming a year ago."

"Neither did I," Erin admitted.

"So," said Alice. "Now that we've got all that out of the way, what type of advice do you need?"

"Well," said Erin, growing uncomfortable. She hadn't been planning on talking to her sister about this, but after the events of the morning, she couldn't see herself talking to anyone else about it. And she found she actually did want to talk about it. "You…you and Malcolm are having sex, right?"

Alice's cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink, but Erin was grateful when she nodded.

"Did you wait? Until you were in love with him?"

Alice took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and looking down at her tea before answering. "Last night was when I asked him if he wanted to stay with me over the summer. It was also the first time either of us said I love you, and the first time we slept together."

"Wow," said Erin after taking a moment to process that. "That's a lot of big things all in one night."

"I know," Alice said with a light chuckle. "It was exhausting, but in a good way."

"I'll bet," Erin said with a smirk. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Why do you ask?"

"Right," said Erin. "So, I know I'm younger than you by a bit, but I don't think the love I have for Al is any less real than the love you have for Malcolm. Same goes for how they feel about the two of us, right?"

Alice nodded.

"Do you think that's all you need to wait for?" she asked in a rush. "Being in love?"

Exactly what Erin was asking took a minute to hit home, but once it did, Alice's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Oh. Well, no, actually. I mean, I was convinced I was in love with Liam so I slept with him. Look how well that turned out."

"So what else is there?" asked Erin. "I'm not saying I'm anxious to take that step or anything," she clarified. "It's just that we sort of almost did once, but after some miscommunication, we decided to wait. Which I think was the right call. But now it's just hanging there between us, and now that I know we both love each other, it's hard to know what exactly we're waiting for."

"I see," Alice said understandingly after a moment of contemplative silence. "Well, my first piece of advice would be to be sure you're in love, which you seem to be. And then I'd say that beyond just _feeling_ a certain way, it needs to be more than that. Love is about choosing someone everyday, not just getting butterflies whenever you see them. Commitment is a big part of it. I know you're young, so maybe it's a bit early for that, but maybe not. Al's parents were together at your age. So were Ron and Hermione."

Erin flushed a bit at her sister's words. The thought of her and Al having the same type of relationship as his parents and aunt and uncle both terrified and thrilled her.

"My point is," Alice continued, "your feelings are important, but nothing is as important as knowing that he's there for you completely. With or without the physical aspects of your relationship. I made the mistake of believing that was what it took to commit to someone, and it's not. It's a big deal, trusting someone that completely. So I'd say don't do it unless you're sure you're ready for that."

Erin let out a deep sigh, nodding at her sister's words. "And you feel that way about Malcolm?"

Alice smiled. "Yeah, I do. Do you feel that way about Al?"

As much as Erin wanted to answer without hesitation, she couldn't help pausing. Yes, she loved Al, and yes, she fully intended to be there for him completely. She even felt like she could safely count on him feeling exactly the same. But what Alice was talking about sounded a lot more like a lifetime commitment than she was ready to make. Not that she couldn't see herself staying with Al that long, but they were only eighteen. Surely that was too soon to know something like that.

"Maybe," she eventually said with a sigh. "I don't have to know the answer to that right now, do I?"

"No," Alice said with a reassuring smile. "You have plenty of time to figure that out."

Erin was grateful that the conversation had left her feeling reassured rather than even more confused. Even though it brought up some questions she wasn't able to answer yet, she felt comfortable not knowing at the moment.

As the week wore on, Erin was able to continue to have meaningful conversations with her sister. They talked about their relationships, the current as well as the past ones. Alice talked about where she saw things going with her future, and Erin wouldn't be that surprised if Alice and Malcolm ended up living a life very similar to the one their parents had. She could see them living a very happy life in Hogsmeade, Alice continuing to run the Three Broomsticks as Malcolm taught at Hogwarts.

Not that marriage was really on the table yet. Alice had been a bit flustered when Erin brought it up, saying it was much too soon to discuss something like that. They'd only just said I love you. But Erin couldn't ignore the way Alice had been unable to stop smiling as she blushed and protested almost a little too much when the subject came up.

As difficult as it was, the moments throughout the week when they'd reminisced about their childhood - which included talking about their Gran - were some of the sweetest. It had grown easier to talk about over the year, and while the approaching anniversary of her death wasn't an easy thing to handle, Erin was thankful for the time to work through her grief with her sister a little more over the past week.

By the time Friday night rolled around, she felt refreshed and ready to move forward in life. Tomorrow, she'd be going to see the flat she'd be moving into with Rose. She'd get to see Al again. And life after Hogwarts would be officially underway.

* * *

"What do you think is taking him so long?" Erin asked for the third time. They'd been in the flat for a quarter of an hour, and there'd been no sign of Al.

"No clue," Scorpius said with a shrug, going over to join Erin at the window. "He told me on Wednesday that he'd meet us here."

"Can we at least get started on taking measurements?" Rose asked impatiently, trying to not grow too annoyed by her cousin's tardiness. They only had the flat for a half hour. Pest control would be coming to make sure nothing had or would take up residence while it was empty, and no one was allowed to be in the flat when that happened.

Scorpius gave her an apologetic smile and moved to join her down the hall, leaving Erin to continue staring out the window. "Do you know who's taking which room?" Scorpius asked as Rose entered the one on the left. The flat was set up so that there was a bedroom at the end of the hall that led into the bathroom, which you could also get to from the hall. The other bedroom - which they had just entered - was across from the bathroom.

"Well, seeing as I have to be up a bit earlier in the mornings, I'm taking the other one," said Rose as she pulled out her wand and a measuring tape from the back pocket of her jeans. "That way I won't bother her by using the bathroom before she's up. Can you read off the measurements?"

Scorpius nodded as Rose tapped the measuring tape with her wand before grabbing the notepad and pencil from the windowsill she'd set them on earlier. They moved into her room next, which was a bit smaller, though not by much. She supposed that was only fair, since she had direct access to the bathroom. Scorpius walked over to the window after gathering up the measuring tape as she jotted down the final measurements.

"You're not far from the National Gallery," Scorpius commented, looking appreciatively out the window and into the side street. They were lucky enough to snag a corner flat, which meant they had a bit more natural light. Rose was ecstatic about this detail.

"I know," said Rose as she came and stood next to him. "I haven't been there since my mum took me the summer after third year."

"Do you want to go sometime?" he asked. Rose grinned up at him almost shyly.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

Scorpius grinned back at her. "Well, seeing as I _am _your boyfriend, I think it's only right I do so every now and then."

Rose laughed and wound her arms around his waist. She pushed up on her toes to kiss him lightly, Scorpius pushing a few strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ears before cradling her head in his hands and kissing her deeply.

Rose was surprised by how much she'd missed him over the course of the week. She'd had a wonderful time with Victoire and Teddy, and it was even better when Scorpius had joined them for dinner her second night there. While they had tried to make plans for him to come over while both Teddy and Victoire were gone the following night, it hadn't worked out. Dominique had shown up in a bit of a frenzy with the intention of seeing her sister, having forgotten in her agitated state that she wouldn't be there that night. Instead of leaving once she realized this, she stayed and told Rose all of her problems, which involved a combination of things, ranging from her uncertainty about her future and any type of career, to what was going on between herself and Lysander.

Even after talking to Dominique for hours, Rose wasn't sure she had a good grasp on what was going on in her cousin's life, or if she'd been able to offer any type of advice. The main takeaways had been that Dom felt stuck in her job, knew she had feelings for Lysander, and couldn't decide whether or not to confront the situation, seeing as they had yet to discuss any type of emotions regarding each other. Dom had seemed relatively more upbeat the following morning, having stayed the night, the evening turning into a sleepover in the sitting room once Victoire got home.

As much as she would have liked to have spent the evening with Scorpius, Rose was okay with the way things had turned out. She'd missed Dom during the previous school year, and part of her had been nervous to be alone with Scorpius, even if it had been her idea. Not that anything too crazy would have happened, but putting herself in the position where it could was something she wasn't sure she was prepared for. There was a difference between spending time together and happening to be alone than intentionally seeking out a few secluded hours with nothing to do but engage in activities like the one they were currently busying themselves with.

Rose pushed all those thoughts aside, enjoying the moment that she'd been waiting for since he'd shown up at the flat just after she and Erin had. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with public displays of affection and had merely grabbed his hand when he'd arrived and given him a tour while they waited for Al. As far as she was concerned, her cousin could take his time if this was how they were going to be spending their time waiting.

"I missed you," Scorpius whispered against her lips when he pulled away to catch his breath.

"I missed you too," said Rose, not wasting another moment before pulling him a bit closer, unable to reach his lips without his help with her arms around his middle. He took the hint and ducked down further, allowing her to sink down off her toes as he kissed her again. Rose slowly moved her mouth against his as he did the same, wanting to savor the feel of him. It wouldn't be long before they didn't have the freedom to see each other every day, once work started for her and training started for him. There would most likely be more weeks in the future where they barely got to see each other. She had every intention of making the most of the next few weeks.

If only Erin and Al could manage to stay out of the way.

"Holy shit!" she heard Erin yell, most likely still staring out the sitting room window and waiting for her boyfriend. "Rose, you've got to come look at this and tell me I'm not hallucinating!"

Rose reluctantly pulled away from Scorpius, who sighed regretfully and placed one last kiss on her forehead. "Please tell me we're not going to always be interrupted by Al and Erin."

Rose laughed as she grabbed his hand and made to lead him out of the room. "We've already talked about the need for privacy. They don't want us bothering them just as much as we don't want them bothering us."

"You're going to make a schedule, aren't you?" Scorpius said teasingly. Rose threw a look at him over her shoulder, which just made him laugh. When they reached the sitting room, it was just in time to see Erin walking out the front door and hurrying down the three flights of stairs to the street below. Curious now as to what Erin could be so worked up about, Rose and Scorpius followed her, both of them staring in shock at the sight that met them at the curb in front of their building.

Albus Potter was straddling a rather impressive looking motorbike that was still running. He wore a leather jacket and jeans and was in the middle of pulling a helmet off his head. A brilliant smile shone on his face once it was off, and he turned off the bike.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" he said, ruffling his hair as he rested the helmet on his knee. "Dad gave me the keys yesterday."

"Is this Uncle Harry's bike?" asked Rose, still staring wide eyed at the scene before her. Al nodded.

"Well, technically, yes. But it's as good as mine now."

"That's amazing," said Scorpius, moving to stand next to the bike and taking a good look. His movement drew Rose's eyes to Erin. She was staring at her boyfriend as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, her eyes roaming over the bike and Al repeatedly, taking it all in.

"What do you think?" asked Al. He watched his girlfriend nervously, obviously anxious to see her reaction. Rose thought it could go either one of two ways. She'd either be excited and all about jumping on behind him for a ride, or terrified for his safety. Which was a feeling Rose was trying very hard to suppress. Or, she'd be an interesting combination of the two, as she turned out to be.

"I think you better not do anything stupid on that thing," said Erin, her brow furrowed as she folded her arms and looked squarely at Al. He was quick to smile reassuringly at her and nod.

"Trust me, I won't. Dad already gave me a whole spiel about not doing anything reckless. Especially when you're on the back of it."

Erin perked up a bit at these words, obviously tempted. She watched as Al turned and lifted up the seat behind him, producing a slightly smaller helmet. "Good thing you're wearing jeans today," he said as he held the helmet out to Erin. "You up for it?"

Rose could tell that Al desperately wanted her to be okay with this. Erin chewed on her lip nervously, but something in the way Al was looking at her must have set her at ease, because a moment later she was smiling at him and grabbing the helmet. Al beamed.

"We're supposed to be going shopping," Rose said with a roll of her eyes. Scorpius chuckled as he came to stand next to her, both of them being ignored by Erin and Al, who was helping Erin fasten the helmet.

"I think we've thoroughly lost them," Scorpius said in amusement. Rose let out an annoyed huff as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"We'll meet you two for lunch, yeah?" said Al as Erin climbed onto the back of the bike behind him and he pulled on his own helmet. "Leaky Cauldron in an hour?"

Rose gave an indulgent sigh. "Fine, just be safe!" she said, hollering the last few words as Al started the bike back up. They took off a moment later, Erin letting out a combination of a scream and a laugh as they began to make their way through London.

"Promise me _you'll_ never have one of those?" asked Rose, looking up at Scorpius pleadingly.

"You're not _that_ nervous, are you?" he asked, sounding a bit amused.

"Well, you're both going to be risking your lives most days anyway," she pointed out with a huff. "I don't see the need to add something else dangerous to your life."

Scorpius sighed and began to lead her back into the flat. "Anyone ever tell you you worry too much?"

Rose shot him a look. "I can't help it that I'm concerned for your wellbeing."

"I know," he assured her as they slowly made their way up the stairs, "and my wellbeing is fine. I don't intend on giving you any reason to worry."

Rose gave him a small smile as they reached the second floor. "I know. I'll try to work on the whole worrying thing. I know you're not an-"

"Insufferable arse!" came a shriek from down the hall. Rose and Scorpius stopped in their tracks as Dominique came storming out of the flat that belonged to James, Fred, and Lysander, slamming the door behind her before hurrying down the hall. They flattened themselves against the wall to move out of the way when it became obvious she had no intention of stopping. She looked on the verge of tears as she glanced briefly at Rose before moving past them and down the stairs.

"Dom!"

Their attention was drawn back to the previously slammed door. Lysander was standing halfway out into the hall, a look of frustration on his face. After failing to see Dominique in the hall, he swore harshly before turning around and storming back inside and slamming the door again, not even giving Rose and Scorpius a second look. They both stood there in stunned silence for a few moments before Scorpius let out a deep breath.

"This should turn out to be a pretty interesting place to live."

* * *

**A/N: If you haven't already, head over to Snapshots and read about the night before Erin shows up at Alice's. Chapter 24! I will be posting another one about Dom and Ly soon! Thoughts on this chapter? I'd love to hear them!**


	5. Don't even try to understand

"Wait, let me get this straight," James said from his seat across from Rose. "Dom was ready to actually talk to Ly about her feelings a few days ago, and you just saw the end of what was undoubtedly a huge falling out between them?"

Rose nodded. They were sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, Rose and Scorpius having spotted James and Violet the moment they showed up to meet Al and Erin, who weren't there yet. James and Violet were there to meet up with Fred, Roxanne, Lorcan, and Lysander for lunch, which had led Rose to tell them what she and Scorpius had witnessed only an hour ago, along with the backstory she had in regards to Dom's feelings for Lysander.

Coming from a family that was well versed in _not _talking about things, it had taken a while for Scorpius to get used to the way the Weasleys and Potters shared information about each other like they were swapping Chocolate Frog cards.

"Do you think he turned her down?" asked Violet. "I was sure he actually liked her."

"Who can really say with Ly," said James with a shrug. "He's not exactly forthcoming when it comes to his feelings. Took me ages to figure out if he actually cared about any of us."

"Of course he does," Violet said dismissively as she continued to mull over the situation, a pinched frown on her face. "I know he wasn't exactly on board when _we_ got together," she mused with a gesture between herself and James, "since he didn't want anything screwing up our friendships. Maybe that's why he doesn't want to be with her either. Thinks it'll ruin things."

"Well that's a load of rubbish," said Scorpius.

"Not entirely," said Rose. "You've seen what's happened because of Caleb and Lily. Things _can _just fall apart."

"Well, they did, it appears," said James in annoyance. "If they'd just kept it in their pants to begin with, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Scorpius barely refrained from chuckling at James' comment, smiling guiltily at Rose when she shot him a look. "I only meant he shouldn't have even let things get started in the first place if he thinks changing their relationship will mess things up," Scorpius explained.

"It'll definitely make things complicated if they can't work it out," said Violet. "We all do so much together that it's bound to get awkward, and I can't see it working without someone getting cut out or people splitting into smaller groups."

"That can't happen," James said with conviction. "We've all been friends for too long to let this mess it all up."

They were interrupted by the appearance of Roxanne and Lorcan a moment later, closely followed by Fred, who was wearing his Weasley Wizard Wheezes robes.

"Where's Ly?" Lorcan asked as they joined the other two couples at the table.

"Not working so probably still sleeping," Fred said with an amused smirk.

"He's not," said Violet, her tone and expression serious. "Rose and Scorpius were over looking at the flat she and Erin are moving into, and they saw Dom yelling at Ly and storming out of the building."

"What?" asked Roxanne in shock, her wide brown eyes looking between Rose and Scorpius. "What happened?"

"We're not entirely sure," said James as the newcomers listened intently. "But Dom told Rose the other day that she was getting frustrated and was ready to confront Ly about their relationship. Apparently they've never really talked about all that before."

Fred snorted in amusement. "Well, it's Ly. What did you expect?"

"She got a little fed up after Ly told you it wasn't worth having a girlfriend over the summer," said Rose, the thought having obviously just come to her based on her tone and expression. Fred's embarrassment at this statement was obvious, but before he could say anything to try and avoid the subject, his sister spoke up.

"Is there someone you wanted to ask out?" Roxanne asked in curious excitement, Violet looking very interested in this topic as well. Lorcan and James were both doing their best not to grin.

"Never mind that right now," said Fred dismissively, his face a bit flushed as he focused on Rose instead of his curious sister. "I _knew _she was upset about that. I even told him after she left that he'd been a bit insensitive. Turns out he only meant it would be distracting to start something up right now since we're busy looking for a place to open the shop, and we think we've actually found one."

"What?!"

"That's brilliant!"

"Where is it?"

"Oi!" Fred hollered over everyone. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but so not the point right now!"

They all quieted down as Fred returned his attention to Rose. "How _does _she feel?"

"Well," said Rose, "she was a bit hesitant to be completely open, but she wants to be with him, that much was pretty obvious."

Fred smirked. "Well, if she went to talk to him about how she feels today, I don't understand how it could have gone badly, because he feels the same."

"He actually told you he has feelings for her?" Lorcan asked in astonishment. Everyone's jaws dropped when Fred nodded.

"What?" Fred asked, a bit surprised that they were all so shocked. "They're together, aren't they? It would be surprising if he didn't."

"But they've never talked about it!" said Rose. "How was she to know?"

Fred shrugged, looking uncomfortable as he took in all of their shocked expressions.

"Well, she called him an insufferable arse," said Scorpius while everyone else sat in stunned silence. "So I'd guess they've had some communication issues."

"What are you lot doing here?"

Everyone else was pulled from their shock as Al and Erin approached the table.

"Just happened to have coinciding plans," said James, taking in his brother and Erin with a calculating look. Scorpius saw James notice Erin trying to tame her obviously windswept hair, before his eyes went to Al, whose hair was pressed flat against his forehead and was putting the keys to the bike in the pocket of his leather jacket. Realization hit James a second later.

"No _fucking_ way," he said with a miserable moan. Al smirked as he pulled over chairs for himself and Erin. "He let you take it out? How's that even possible?"

"Not entirely sure," said Al with a very pleased grin. "Especially considering he didn't _just _let me ride it."

James' mouth fell open in shock. "He _gave _you the bike?"

"Seriously?" said Fred as Al sat next to him. "That's wicked!"

Al looked like he was about to go into detail about just how wicked it was, when Lorcan - who'd been sitting silently and frowning - suddenly stood from the table.

"Lor, what's wrong?" Roxanne asked her fiancé as he pulled out his chair, obviously preparing to leave.

"Something's not right," he said, concern obvious in his voice. "He said last night he'd be here, and if he's not…"

Lorcan's eyes widened as something seemed to hit him; something no one else had realized.

"Shit," he hissed out, obviously alarmed by whatever conclusion he'd come to. Everyone watched in shock as Lorcan paused only long enough to grip Roxanne's shoulder for a split second before he ran from the building, disappearing into the busy streets of Diagon Alley.

"What the hell is with today?!" James asked in astonishment, but Roxanne and Fred were standing too, trading looks of concern.

"It's a twin thing, mate," said Fred. "If Lorcan thinks something's wrong, something's wrong."

They moved to leave the pub, everyone else feeling uncertain if they should follow as Hannah Longbottom approached them.

"Are they coming back?" she asked. "I had the kitchen working on all your usual orders."

Everyone exchanged looks of concern and uncertainty.

"Actually," James finally said as he pulled out some money, "could you bag all that up? We'll take it to go."

"Is this really a good idea?" Al grumbled as they made their way up to the second floor of the building. Rose rolled her eyes as she, Scorpius, Erin, James, and Violet started down the hall toward the flat that Fred and Lysander shared with James.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," said James. "And if it isn't, we'll deal with it."

"That's reassuring," said Al, letting out a slight yelp a second later when Erin elbowed him in the gut.

No one was in the sitting room when they entered the flat. In fact, if Rose hadn't known any better, she'd say that no one was there at all. But then they heard the unpleasant sound of someone retching in the bathroom down the hall.

James and Violet immediately rushed to see what was going on, the other four hanging back a bit, especially since there wasn't exactly anymore room down the hall.

They could hear heavy breathing echoing in the bathroom, followed by someone spitting. Rose would have to guess that Lysander was the one in distress, though he hadn't seemed sick in the few moments she'd seen him earlier. Then again, his face had been a bit flushed. Maybe he was ill.

They heard a few mumbled words, and then Violet was coming back down the hall and making her way towards the kitchen, distress obvious on her face.

"What's going on?" Rose asked in a whisper as Violet grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

"I'm not sure," she responded just as quietly, "only that Ly appears to be sick and Lorcan seems to have a firm handle on the situation, though he's a bit on edge. I've never seen Ly sick before."

She made her way back down the hall, and Rose heard a few mumbled words a couple minutes later, closely followed by James, Violet, Fred, and Roxanne making their way back to the sitting room.

"Can we go up to your new flat?" a distressed Roxanne asked Rose and Erin.

"No," said Rose regretfully. "They're treating it for pests and we can't get back in until tomorrow."

Roxanne sighed in defeat, and then they heard shuffling and mumbled words from down the hall, followed by the soft closing of a door. A very exhausted looking Lorcan appeared a moment later.

"He all right, mate?" James asked in concern.

Lorcan shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair and Roxanne approached him, taking his other hand in hers. "Dunno. I haven't seen him like this in a while."

"What happened?" asked Fred, completely flabbergasted by the state of his best friend. "I've never seen him so…"

Apparently, whatever state Lysander was in was too distressing for Fred to put into words. Lorcan hesitated, his gaze shifting around the room. "It's a bit too personal for me to share. Especially if he hasn't seen fit to do so before now."

Fred and James appeared shocked that there could possibly be something they didn't know about their friend. Violet seemed to have a look of comprehension, and Roxanne looked pained for her fiancés twin brother.

"We can clear out," said Al, looking at Erin, Scorpius, and Rose.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, who grabbed Rose's hand with one of his, the other picking up their sack of food from where James had set it on the floor when they'd entered. "We'll leave you lot to it."

Somewhat reluctantly, Rose left with her friends, knowing there wasn't anything she could have done to help, but unable to keep from wishing there was.

There was a park across from their building, which had been one of the main appeals for Rose in settling there. It was small, and there wasn't much more than a few benches and some nice stretches of grass with footpaths running through it, but it was a lovely escape while still remaining in the city.

They crossed the street and made their way to one of the benches, the girls sitting on it and the boys plopping down on the grass in front of them as Scorpius divided up the food.

"What do you think happened?" Erin asked as she took her sandwich from Scorpius.

"No clue," said Al with a shrug. "Maybe she hexed him."

"I don't think so," said Rose. "He was fine when we saw him earlier."

"Then maybe she poisoned his tea and it just took awhile to take effect," said Al.

"You heard what Lor said, though," Scorpius pointed out. "Whatever it is, it's personal. I doubt that Lor would be that secretive about it if it was something as simple as Dom hexing or poisoning him."

Al shrugged and dug into his lunch. Rose had to agree with Scorpius. Something was going on with Lysander that was much more complicated than something purely physical. The way Lorcan had talked about his brother and what they'd witnessed in the flat was eerily reminiscent of some moments she'd witnessed in her own home as a child. She remembered her mother being inexplicably sick, and her father explaining it away by saying she'd had a rough day, though with obvious concern on his face. Rose couldn't remember it happening as much after she left for Hogwarts, but then she'd rarely been at home. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time it had happened.

"I hope he's okay," was all she said, thinking it best not to pick apart what had happened any more than was necessary.

They finished their lunch and finally did the shopping they'd been planning to do earlier in the day. Thanks to Erin and Rose both saving at least some money over the years, they were able to afford a couch, an armchair, and a kitchen table, all second hand but in decent shape. The table didn't have chairs to go with it, so they had fun each picking out their own chairs, none of them matching but all roughly the same size. It would be eclectic and lack elegance, but Rose and Erin were both okay with that.

The final week leading up to their move was spent packing boxes and even tossing out things they no longer needed. Rose had never moved before, so it took days to finally go through all of her things, a lot of them being packed into boxes that her parents would store in their attic. She'd managed to narrow the stuff she was taking with her down to only twelve boxes plus her trunk, a feat she was proud of.

Due to the building being mainly a Muggle one, they had to move in manually. But they weren't without help. Al and Scorpius were there bright and early to help on moving day, as were a reluctant Hugo and an excited James. Rose had gone by the Potters' the day before and asked Lily if she wanted to come, but, knowing Hugo would be there, she'd made up some excuse, assuring Rose that she'd come by a few days later and once they were all settled.

Lily seemed better than she had a few weeks previously, but there was still a melancholy to her that Rose wasn't sure was going to go away as long as she remained on the outs with Hugo.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to fill a box with just books?" Hugo grumbled as he carried a box into the flat, nearly dropping it on the floor of the sitting room.

"Sorry," said Rose with a grimace. "I tried to spread them out."

Hugo gave an annoyed grunt and left to fetch another box, leaving Rose to continue unpacking the box of cooking ware that Erin had been given by her mother.

While the rather rotten attitude that Hugo had at the end of the school year had thankfully disappeared, he was still in a bit of a sour mood. Rose was just grateful he was no longer taking things out on other people. She knew that whatever talk he'd had with Lily only strengthened the divide between them. It was obvious that both were hurting, and Rose had to physically restrain herself from locking them in a room together and forcing them to sort out their issues.

"Dad and Ethan are outside with the beds," said Erin, carrying her own box into the flat. They'd been able to procure spare beds from the Leaky Cauldron that were still in decent shape. Both girls made their way down to the front of the building, knowing they'd need quite a few sets of hands to bring up the beds. When they reached the street, however, they found there were more than enough people to handle it.

"You should hold it from the bottom," said Dom, standing back and appraising the way James and Lysander were carrying one of the bed frames. The latter rolled his eyes but adjusted his grip anyway.

"I'd like to see you do this," he said, teeth gritted under the weight of the solid wood frame.

"You'd be surprised what I can manage to do with a bed," she said with a smirk and a wink at her boyfriend, who rolled his eyes again but couldn't hide his smile and slightly pink cheeks.

"Can you two stop flirting long enough for us to get this upstairs?" asked James impatiently, and Lysander immediately began walking backwards into the building, James following after him as they carried the bed frame.

It had been a bit of a shock to Rose to see Dominique appear on the front stoop with scones and tea and coffee for everyone that morning, her attitude bubbly and much more upbeat than it had been when she'd been storming out of the building a week ago. Rose had been so busy preparing for her move, that while she hadn't forgotten what was going on in her cousin's life, she hadn't had time to keep up with what had happened over the past week. So it was also a shock to see Dom beam in delight when Lysander appeared about an hour after she'd arrived, hear her tease him about his sleep disheveled hair, and then to watch as Lysander stole Dom's tea and finished it off before smirking and kissing away her affronted expression.

"You two seem to be getting on better," said Rose as she approached Dominique, who shrugged but smiled.

"We worked things out."

Rose looked at her pointedly, but Dom just smirked at her.

"You're no fun," Rose pouted playfully, and Dom laughed.

"I'll dish later," she promised. "I happen to spend a lot of time in your building, so there will be plenty of opportunities."

The other bed and the mattresses were brought up to the flat, along with the new couch, chairs, and kitchen table. It was barely put together, but it was already starting to feel like a home.

"This is actually pretty nice," said Ethan, taking in the flat and downing a bottle of water.

"Did you think it wouldn't be?" asked Erin, who was sitting on the floor and beginning to pull picture frames out of a box.

"No," said Ethan with a roll of his eyes. "You just never know with first flats."

"Definitely nicer than that shitty walkup Teddy had," said Hugo as he brought in the last box. Everyone chuckled. It was a bit of a tight fit at the moment to have so many people in their flat. James and Ly were back in one of the bedrooms setting up one of the beds, while Scorpius and Al tackled the other one. Neville, Ethan, and Dom were in the living room with Erin - Dom and Neville sitting on the couch and drinking water while Ethan looked out the window and Hugo joined his sister in the kitchen. Despite the fact that they were practically bursting at the seams, Rose loved having so many people there, and she was looking forward to future moments when even more people would be filling the small space. Her parents were planning on stopping by within the next hour.

"My Hogwarts letter and O.W.L. results came this morning," Hugo said through a mouthful of chocolate biscuits. Hannah had provided them with plenty of treats to get their kitchen started, and Hugo, Al, and Scorpius had taken advantage almost instantly.

"Really?" Rose asked excitedly as she continued to put dishes away. "How'd you do?"

"Not bad," he said with a shrug. "I passed everything but Divination. Guess Mum was right about that one."

Rose chuckled and shook her head. "I _told _you you should have taken something else."

"Yeah, well, you're the one who failed to take a class you wound up needing," he said with a teasing grin. Rose shot him a playful scowl. "When do you start working toward your Ancient Runes N.E.W.T?"

"Well, McGonagall said that-"

Rose was abruptly cut off by the sound of someone hollering from the direction of the hall outside the flat.

"James!" came the call once again, and Rose shot a concerned glance at Hugo when she recognized Lily's voice. It was obvious Hugo had too by the way his easy demeanor quickly changed to be on edge.

"In here!" Dom yelled back, not bothering to get off the couch. A moment later, a slightly out of breath Lily entered the room. She was still dressed in her pajamas and had a bit of soot on her face, leading Rose to assume she'd flooed to her brother's flat and had w here after she failed to find him.

She took a sweeping look around the room, her eyes pausing for a minute on Hugo behind the counter that separated the sitting room from the kitchen. "Where's James?"

"Back there," said Erin, pointing down the hall and looking at Lily in confusion. Her hands were clenched into fists, a letter gripped in one of them.

"James!" Lily yelled once again, moving further into the flat. "Al!"

Both brothers emerged a moment later, Al following behind James and looking at their sister in concern.

"Lily, what's wrong?" asked James.

Much to Rose's surprise, Lily's face split into an ecstatic smile. She tossed something at James from the hand that wasn't holding the letter, and James caught the small, shiny object just before it could hit him in the chest. He looked down at it and blinked a few times, a smile appearing on his own face as Al looked over his shoulder and prepared at the object in his older brother's hand. James' eyes snapped to Lily, who continued to beam and held up the letter.

"I'm Captain!"

* * *

**A/N: My apologies for being so late! Blame it on life changes or travel or sickness or all three, cause it's been a crazy few weeks. I've missed these kids and I hope you did too! I posted a snapshot of Dom and Ly a while back that you should go read, and I have a follow up to that that you might see later today and at least this week.**

**Please keep reviewing! It keeps me going. I love hearing about what characters you want to see more of or even things you want to see happen. I only have a rough outline of main plot points for these stories so I always love some good inspiration for things that happen to help us get there or even just on the side. the mashed potatoes are just as tasty as the steak in my opinion!**

**Bless you all!**


	6. Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you

Their free summer days flew by faster than Rose would have liked. In only three days, she and Erin would be starting their respective jobs, and Scorpius and Albus would begin Auror training. Since the day was a beautiful one, they decided to take advantage of the final Friday they would have as simple teenagers.

After spending the morning with their own families, Rose, Erin, and Al met up with Scorpius at Malfoy Manor, the sun shining and a dip in the pond on the agenda. Scorpius had told Rose about the pond when they'd gone skating on the black lake at Hogwarts, and she'd been curious to see it ever since.

A basket of drinks and snacks was prepared, and the four of them set out from the Manor. They already had their swimwear on under their clothes as they headed towards the line of trees at the end of the back yard that was large enough to play a decent game of Quidditch in. To the left, Rose could spot what looked like a vegetable garden, and to the right was a greenhouse that Scorpius explained was where his father grew some of the potions ingredients he used. They practically had to drag Erin along with them after she heard this.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to explore on Monday," Al assured her, one arm around her shoulder and both of their towels in the other. Erin rolled her eyes in annoyance but fit herself into Al's side, her arm around his waist as she held his wrist that was hanging over her shoulder with her other hand.

"You're no fun," she said a bit grumpily. Al laughed and pulled her closer to his side.

"I think the point of today is having fun _outside _of our responsibilities. No more school, no work, no training. Just us and the sunshine."

Scorpius gave an amused snort. "Very poetic."

"Well, it's the truth," said Al, a crooked smile on his face as Scorpius glanced back at him. Scorpius shook his head in amusement as Rose grabbed his hand.

"He's right," she said with a grin. "As much as it just might kill me to do so, I'm determined not to talk about the fact that I'm nervous about Monday, or that I now have to decide if I'm going to take my Ancient Runes N.E.W.T. since I got my O.W.L., or that our lives are all officially changing tomorrow."

She said all this quite quickly, and the others laughed, knowing just how difficult it would be for Rose to refrain from talking about everything she'd just mentioned.

"I was asking James about going to a match once the season starts," said Erin, effectively changing the subject at least somewhat. "Do you know when you'll have a schedule for your weekends off?"

"Hopefully by Monday," said Al. "We do all the orientation stuff and I assume that's the type of thing they'll let us know about."

"Ethan was telling me that it's not necessarily every three weeks that we get a day off," said Scorpius as they reached the line of trees. He led them between a few that were spaced a little further apart, a well worn footpath guiding their way. "Any clue why that is?"

Al shrugged. "Maybe it has to do with the trainers schedules? Or the fact that there are sometimes five weekends in a month so it's not like they can keep it regular anyway?"

"Well, either way," said Rose, "it really would be nice to know so we can make plans."

"What type of plans do you have in mind?" Scorpius asked with a slightly teasing smile.

"Quidditch matches, for one," she said, pointedly ignoring his smirk at the fact that she was already trying to schedule things. "And my dad said something about wanting to spend more time with you."

They all laughed at the slightly fearful look Scorpius wore. He really didn't have any reason to worry. At least, no more than any boy would when it came to the father of their girlfriend. Even if he acted like he was still measuring him up, Rose knew her dad liked Scorpius very much, even perhaps against his will. She couldn't blame him, really. Scorpius always behaved like the perfect gentleman when around her parents, while also being warm and friendly and respectful. He'd been over to their house a handful of times over the summer, and dinner with her parents had grown increasingly more comfortable each time it happened.

And she'd been over to have dinner with his parents a few times as well. This made Rose more sympathetic to Scorpius' nerves when it came to her own family. It had gone well, and while his mother's warm and familiar attitude set her at ease, she wasn't used to the rather stoic Draco Malfoy; so different from her own father, but just as determined to see his child happy as her dad was. Scorpius had assured Rose that both of his parents loved her, and she believed him, but still knew that it would be a long time before they'd be having any type of joint family gathering. The party they had when they'd been named Heads was one thing. Just their families sitting down to dinner with the knowledge that they could very well be family themselves in the future - if things went the way Rose believed she wanted them to - was another.

It was a thought that equally thrilled and terrified Rose, but she was thankful it was far enough in the future that she didn't have to worry about it quite yet.

When they reached the pond, Rose shoved all these thoughts to the back of her mind, a smile overtaking her face as she took in the rippling water, chirping birds, and breathed in the wonderful scent of summer.

They walked out across the dock that led into the water, which was big enough for all of them to lay their towels down on. Al and Scorpius barely wasted another second before pulling off their T-shirts and jumping into the cool water.

"You not getting in?" Erin asked Rose as she pulled her wavy blonde hair up into a ponytail.

"In a bit," said Rose, trying to not let her lack of confidence show through her smile. Erin shrugged off Rose's reluctance along with the shorts and tank top she was wearing, revealing a dark green two piece that was modest yet still showed quite a few inches of skin around her waist.

"Get your arse in here, Longbottom!" said Al, pausing in his attempt to dunk Scorpius to holler at his girlfriend. Erin placed her hands on her hips and glared at Al.

"Don't talk about my arse, Potter," she said, her tone dangerous, but mischief in her eyes. Al arched an eyebrow and worked to contain a grin.

"Not even to tell you that I think it's fantastic?"

Al missed the slightly uncharacteristic blush that appeared on Erin's cheeks as Scorpius chose that exact moment to put his friend in a headlock and pull him under the water. Rose grinned, momentarily forgetting her own insecurities as Erin blinked rapidly a few times before shaking herself out of whatever stupor Al's words had caused her to fall into and jumping into the water.

"Rose, come on!" Scorpius said after Al had escaped him, only to be pounced on by Erin a moment later. "It's too bloody hot to stay out of the water."

Rose couldn't help returning his smile and began working her hair into a plait, a sign Scorpius accurately interpreted to mean she was preparing to join them.

With jittery hands and slightly unstable legs, Rose stood on the dock, her hair secured and her fingers playing at the edge of her tank top. Stealing herself and taking a deep breath, she pulled off her shorts and kicked them aside before quickly ripping off her tank top.

Scorpius and Erin were both distracted by ganging up on Al, and Rose took the opportunity to nervously adjust her swimsuit before jumping into the water while no one was watching.

She came up, flipping her plait over her shoulder and rubbing the water out of her eyes just in time to see a grinning Scorpius swimming towards her.

"Nice of you to join us," he said with a slightly teasing tone, ignoring the overly dramatic cry for help that was coming from Al as Erin continued to climb on him and pull him under the water. Rose rolled her eyes but smiled at him. His own smile faded a bit as he noticed the shiver Rose tried and failed to hide.

"Are you cold?" he asked, moving even closer to her. Rose reached out her hands as she saw him do the same, the water coming up to just below her shoulders and about halfway down his chest.

"No," she said honestly, shaking her head as his hands found hers. He gripped them and pulled her closer.

"You sure?" he asked, his concern beginning to be replaced by a smile. "'Cause I could help with that if you are."

Rose giggled and shook her head, a gasp escaping her as he suddenly pulled her close. And then his hands slipped from hers and found her waist, and his smirk fell away to be replaced with a look of wide-eyed surprise as his fingers curled around bare skin.

"Um…" he said, his tone a bit uncertain and his eyes alight with what she could only describe as excitement. "What…um...what are you wearing?"

Rose gave him a tentative smile, completely understanding his shock. "Victoire took me shopping during the week I spent with her. I know it's…different from what I usually wear, but…"

"It's great!" he said quickly, correctly interpreting the slightly nervous look she wore. "I mean," he continued, moving back a bit to look down at what was probably a slightly distorted view of her in a deep purple two piece that was slightly less modest than Erin's. "You look _great_."

Rose felt some of her nerves dissipating, matching smiles growing on their faces as Scorpius pulled her closer once again. She really _had_ never worn anything like it before, mostly sticking to a modest one piece, and she'd nearly refused to let Victoire buy it for her. But even though part of her still felt a bit self conscious, Rose was glad she'd not only bought it, but decided to wear it. And not just because of Scorpius' obvious appreciation - reinforced by the way he continued to hold her and lightly stroke her side with his thumb - but because after years of spending most of her time hiding under robes and her personally enforced obligation to be as respectable and responsible and straight-laced as possible, she'd finally decided to begin to let loose. To embrace the part of her that had always wanted to be a little more sexy and feminine and a bit more adventurous. Not that she wasn't all of those things already in some way, but this was a way she'd yet to explore, and she was enjoying it so far.

"Thanks," said Rose, resting her hands on his arms and squinting against the sun that was shining brightly overhead. "Though I can't quite take your word for it since you can't really see me."

Scorpius smiled at her, pulling her close to him again and allowing his hands to trail up and down her sides, causing Rose to shiver once again.

"We'll take care of that later," she said, trying to add a teasing tone to her words, though knowing she still sounded a bit flustered by his closeness.

Their moment was ruined a second later by a wave of water crashing into Scorpius' back, both of them losing their footing a bit and Scorpius spluttering as water dripped down his hair and into his face.

"Oi!" Al hollered from behind Scorpius. "Now is not the time for that type of fooling around."

Rose blushed but managed to laugh as Scorpius turned to retaliate. The next hour was spent in an ebb and flow of messing around and lazing about in the water. They eventually took a break to get out and sit on the dock and grab some drinks and a bite to eat, Rose's swimwear earning a wink and a smirk from Erin, a grin and an eyebrow wiggle from Scorpius, and a frown and a question from Al.

"It's obviously a swimsuit, Al," Erin said after her boyfriend had rather pointedly asked what his cousin was wearing. "Don't be a prat."

Al looked like he was about to argue, but he refrained when Erin shot him a warning look, and most likely completely forgot the topic entirely when she came around in front of him and sat between his legs. Rose joined Scorpius on his towel, wrapping her own around her as she sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

They sat there in comfortable silence and companionship. Erin was munching on a bag of crisps, occasionally offering it to Al so he could have some. They all had cold bottles of butterbeer, and Rose sighed in contentment as Scorpius placed his hand on her bare knee, his thumb rubbing circles into the side of it as she turned her head to place a kiss on his shoulder before resting her temple against it once more.

"I'm going to miss this," she couldn't help saying with a sigh.

"The summer?" Al asked. Rose shrugged.

"That's part of it, I suppose," she allowed. "I guess I more mean moments like this. No responsibilities and nothing to worry about. Just all of us together and happy."

She felt Scorpius sigh and then duck his head down to kiss the top of hers. "We can still have these moments," he said, his hand momentarily gripping her knee a little tighter. "They might feel or look a bit different, but we'll make them happen, yeah?"

"Absolutely," said Al, and Rose gave her cousin a grateful smile, happy that he wasn't choosing to dismiss her sentimentality as silly. He wrapped his arms around Erin and pulled her back against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head. "We've stuck together this long, and I don't think any of us want that to change."

Erin nodded in agreement, her eyes closing in contentment as she laid her arms over Al's around her waist. "Things will only change if we let them," she said, her words sincere and certain.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. She knew they all cared for each other, but it was always a fear that you would drift apart from the people you care about once change happens. Especially if whoever you were trying to hold onto didn't try to hold onto you. And even though they'd had their ups and downs over the past year, Rose didn't see any of them letting go.

However, she couldn't help having the smallest amount of fear at the realization that things were always able to fall apart again, no matter how much you might not want them to.

Their day spent together helped to reassure Rose, and after a few more hours lounging in the sun and the water, they all headed back towards the Manor, Al walking ahead with Erin on his back as Rose and Scorpius trailed behind them.

"You're not _that _worried about things changing, are you?" Scorpius asked her, his voice quiet so it wouldn't carry. Rose shook her head and slipped her hand into his.

"No, not really," she assured him. "At least, not as far as we're able to have a say in it. But some things are always going to be outside of our control. I just don't want us letting those things do more damage than they have to."

"And we won't," he assured her, pulling her close so he could kiss the top of her head. "Whatever those things might be, we won't let them mess this up, all right?"

Rose gave him a tender smile, stopping and turning to face him as they neared the house. "Thank you," she said. "I know I can be a bit pessimistic and cynical about these things, so it's good to be reminded every now and then just how much it means to you that we have each other. How much you care."

"Of course I care," he said sincerely, slipping his fingers from hers so he could cup her face with both of his hands. He seemed hesitant and almost nervous for a moment before he spoke again. "Rose, I-"

"Scorp! Get in here!" Al hollered from the house. Scorpius cursed under his breath before stepping back from Rose and turning to face his best friend, who'd reached the house and was now leaning out the back door that led to the kitchen, an eager look on his face.

"If this is because my mum made brownies…" Scorpius grumbled under his breath as Al disappeared back inside. Rose chuckled as she slipped her hand back into his and began leading him towards the house.

"Come on. You can finish what you were saying later. It's not like we really expected to have uninterrupted time anyway. Today was about all of us being together."

"I suppose," Scorpius said with a sigh. "But you can't blame me for wanting you all to myself every once in a while."

Rose laughed as they reached the back door and he held it open for her. "I suppose I can't. Especially when I want the same with you."

Scorpius smiled at Rose, surprising her a moment later when he stopped her from going into the house, his hand tightening around hers and pulling her back to him. She only had a moment to wonder what he was doing before he kissed her, his skin warm from the sun as her hand instinctively went to rest against his cheek, and his lips firm against hers.

"Well, look who grew up while I was away."

Rose abruptly pulled away from Scorpius at the unfamiliar deep voice, turning to stare wide eyed into the kitchen.

A man with light brown hair and a thin but handsome face was smirking at them as he leaned against the countertop in the middle of the room. He was of a slim build and tall, similar to her father. Rose would guess that he was about the same age as her father as well, but she had no clue who he was until Scorpius exclaimed excitedly from behind her.

"Uncle Theo!"

The man in the kitchen smiled brightly, showing slightly crooked teeth that somehow made him even more handsome as Scorpius walked around Rose and towards him. Rose hesitantly moved forward, grateful that she'd decided to put her clothes back on over her swimwear as Scorpius shook the wizard's hand before being pulled into a firm embrace.

"Did Dad know you were coming?" Scorpius asked after pulling away, his face lit with excitement.

"Nah, figured I'd surprise you," said Theo with a roguish grin. "Drake's getting a bit boring in his old age and could use some excitement every now and then."

"Merlin, it's been ages!" said Scorpius. "Have you settled anywhere? Are you still traveling?" he asked as Rose moved to join Al and Erin, who were on the other side of the counter from Scorpius and Theo. Erin was watching curiously, while Al seemed almost as excited as Scorpius.

"For the most part," said Theo, pausing to take a drink from what looked like a bottle of ale before continuing. "I've got a few places here and there, but business keeps me pretty mobile. But what about you! You seem to be doing well. Head Boy and now onto the Aurors! And I'm assuming this lovely young witch is the girlfriend your mother went on about when I showed up, yeah?"

For the first time, his attention was directed at Rose, and she felt herself blushing as she smiled at Scorpius' godfather.

As soon as Scorpius had said his name, Rose realized exactly who was standing in the kitchen. It had been so long since Scorpius had mentioned his godfather - let alone seen him - that his presence was completely unexpected to Rose. From what she'd heard, he somehow worked in trade and had even worked with Draco for a bit of time after Hogwarts, helping him to get his business going. While Draco had served a sentence of a few years under house arrest, Theodore Nott Jr. hadn't been convicted of any crimes after the war, even though his father had been a Death Eater and was sent to Azkaban, just like Draco's father had been for a time. Rose didn't think Nott Sr. had ever been released, though. From the way people talked, he'd been one of the cruelest Death Eaters. Especially when it came to his treatment of Muggles.

As far as Rose could remember, Scorpius hadn't seen his godfather since Christmas his third year. That had been the first time Al was allowed to spend an extended amount of time at Malfoy Manor, and he'd come home with stories of Scorpius' Uncle Theo and how cool he was. The following year was when Rose had actually gotten to know Scorpius, and while he mentioned his godfather often enough, he hadn't said anything about seeing him, and even made comments in their sixth year that he wasn't even sure where he was. He'd even mentioned that he hadn't heard from him in a while whenever Al asked about him. Rose couldn't remember Theo ever coming up in conversation over the past year, and Scorpius seemed just as surprised by his godfather's sudden return to his life as Rose was. She did her best to calm her nerves and smile as she was introduced.

"Uncle Theo, this is Rose Weasley," said Scorpius, obvious pride in his voice as he smiled at her. His attention on her, however, caused him to miss the tightening of the smile that his godfather was giving Rose, but she picked up on it easily.

"Weasley, eh?" he said, his tone light as he stuck his hand out to shake Rose's. "I thought you'd have learnt by now to stay away from that lot after this one."

He jerked his head towards Al, causing both boys to chuckle as he smirked. It was obvious they thought it was a joke, and he definitely did an impressive job of playing it off like one, but Rose wasn't convinced. There was something cold in his eyes even as he chuckled.

"Not that I blame you," Theo continued, this time giving Rose a much more genuine smile, almost making her believe that she'd been imagining the dislike she'd picked up on only moments ago. "She's just as pretty as your mum said she was."

Rose felt herself blushing at the compliment as Scorpius moved around the counter to stand behind her, his arms circling her waist as he kissed her temple. "So why are you here?" Scorpius asked his godfather, excitement still in his voice. "What've you been up to?"

"Ah, you know," Theo said with a dismissive wave. "Same old rubbish as always. I'm partly in town on business, but I also heard about your mum. Figured it was about time I check in."

The atmosphere turned a bit somber at this, but Theo didn't seem to be the type of person to let himself or others be down long.

"I plan to have a good time while I'm in town too," he continued. "Ruffle a few feathers and visit some old friends."

He'd said this with his familiar smirk returning, and his words made Scorpius tense slightly.

"You're not seriously planning on bothering her, are you?" he asked almost imploringly. Theo gave him an innocent look and shrugged. "You know she just comes to Dad and complains about you whenever you do this," Scorpius continued. "Rather violently, I might add."

Theo laughed. "Oh, I bet Drake hates that," he said, not really sounding that guilty at all

"I thought I told you not to call me that," came the resigned voice of Draco Malfoy. He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his arms crossed and an irritated expression on his face as Theo grinned innocently.

"Come on, Drake," he said teasingly. "You know you've missed me."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't be so sure, Theodore. Now come on, let the young people get themselves cleaned up. Dinner's almost ready."

At his father's words, Scorpius led the other three from the room, leaving Theo with a disgusted look on his face after being called by his full name.

"I didn't see anything cooking," Rose said in confusion as they made their way up the stairs.

"That's because there's another kitchen," Erin said in excitement. "Mr. Malfoy showed me when he gave me a tour last week. It's massive and it's on the other side of the house."

"My mum typically has the meals cooked there," Scorpius explained. "The kitchen we were just in is more for snacks and drinks and that kind of thing. The other one is too far away from the side of the house we live in for it to be convenient, so Dad had the smaller one added on. My grandparents never served themselves anything, but Mum likes to bake and Dad's come around to the idea of doing stuff for ourselves a bit more, so it made sense."

"Do you have elves in the other kitchen?" Rose asked skeptically as they reached the top of the stairs. They turned to the right before they began to make their way down a long hallway.

"Two, and they're both paid," said Scorpius with a smile. "My parents have a few other witches and wizards that come in part time to do some cleaning and things when the elves take time off, but I think they're going to have someone here on more of a permanent basis now that Mum's not always going to be able to do everything on her own."

They didn't have to linger in uncomfortable silence for very long as they reached a door that Scorpius opened, leading them into what could only be his bedroom.

The walls were the same white as the rest of the house, contrasting with the dark marble flooring. Scorpius had once said that the walls used to match the floors, but his grandmother had made a lot of changes after the war. Rose could imagine just how dark it used to be, and was glad for the modifications.

There were blue rugs on the floor, a softer shade than she probably would have predicted, but his full sized bed that was centered against the wall on the left side of the rather large room was covered in luscious pillows and a comforter in a deep navy. The furniture was black and included a chest of drawers and a bookshelf on either side of the door, a side table by the bed, and a desk by the window on the back wall that looked out towards the front of the house. There was also a navy blue armchair in the corner between the window and his side table. To the right were two doors; one that led to a bathroom and the other, a closet.

"Who were you talking about Theo not bothering?" asked Erin as she and Al sat on the bed and Scorpius opened his closet.

"Pansy," said Scorpius with a sigh. "She's his ex-wife, and it's always been a rather...turbulent relationship, from what I've seen and heard. You remember her showing up the last day of your visit in third year?" he asked Al.

"Bloody hell, is that who that was?" Al asked with wide eyes. "She went off on your dad like I've never seen, and I've seen some tempers when it comes to females thanks to my family."

"What did he do?" asked Rose, shoving Al slightly as she joined him and Erin on the bed.

"Well," said Scorpius, coming back out of his closet with a fresh change of clothes in his hands, "Theo drove off some bloke she was seeing, and Dad eventually slipped her a calming draught, I think. Not the best practice, but he probably would've been obliterated if Mum hadn't managed to disarm her."

"Why did she yell at your dad for that?" Erin asked in confusion.

"Because she reckons it's all his fault that she and Uncle Theo have issues in the first place," said Scorpius with a roll of his eyes. "She and Dad were a bit of an item in school, and even though Dad and Uncle Theo don't have any issues because of it, Pansy always seemed to resent Uncle Theo for not being a lot of things my Dad is, which is a bit ironic seeing as he was the one who was an actual Death Eater. But Theo could never settle down and never kept a steady job, and she was used to the high bred pure blood lifestyle. I guess she figured that's what would happen when they got married, only it didn't."

"Did they ever even like each other?" asked Erin, fully engrossed in the story.

"Dad says they did," said Scorpius with a shrug. "Head over heels for each other, apparently. The three of them and my aunt and uncle actually really came together after the war. My dad was the only one on house arrest, and they spent a lot of time here. Dad said that's when things changed between Pansy and Theo, as well as between Aunt Daphne and Uncle Blaise. My dad met my Mum during his last year of his sentence too. He's always said that all those relationships were why he decided not to leave the house once my grandparents died. It took a lot during the war, but it ended up giving a whole lot back as well."

Rose sat in stunned silence. She couldn't ever remember Scorpius talking quite this openly about anything concerning his family's involvement in the war. It drove home for her just how much he'd not only grown up over the past year, but how much he accepted exactly who he was, including all the baggage that came from his family history. Her heart swelled with affection for him, but there was nothing she could currently do to express it as Scorpius said that the girls could change in the bathroom, while he and Al did the same in the bedroom.

They were all changed and refreshed only a few minutes later, and Rose found herself looking questioningly at Scorpius as he held her back and told Al and Erin they'd be right behind them as they left to head downstairs.

"So? What'd you think?"

Rose looked at him in confusion. "Of what?"

"Of Uncle Theo," he said. "I know I hadn't prepared you to meet him since I didn't even know he was going to be here, but did you like him?"

"Oh," said Rose, a bit taken aback at being asked so directly. "Well, I barely got a chance to form an opinion," she admitted, continuing quickly when she saw disappointment begin to appear on his face, "but he seems lovely. And I know he means a lot to you, so I'm excited to get to know him."

Scorpius smiled brightly. "I'm excited for that too. I hope he sticks around for a bit this time. I'd love for two of my favorite people to finally know each other."

Rose smiled encouragingly at him, and he pulled her close against him, his arms around her waist and hers around his neck as they simply held each other.

And as excited as she wanted to be for Scorpius - who was obviously delighted with his godfather's return - Rose couldn't shake the feeling that it might not be as great as it seemed.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. It's been awhile since this one got an update. If you're not following me or any of my other stories, there are a few new snapshots and a chapter in Patience is a Virtue that you can go read! I also posted a Teddy/Victoire oneshot that is connected to this world. Thoughts on this chapter? Some fun new developments that I'm very much looking forward to exploring. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**Also, I accidentally posted this in Show a Little Faith, so my apologies to those who got that notification!**


	7. You're not the only one

"All right, you lot, listen up!" the rather intimidating looking Auror shouted from the front of the room. "I know most of you know this already, but it doesn't hurt to have a refresher on the rules, so pay attention."

After getting settled into their housing over the weekend, the new trainees - as well as the returning ones - had all gathered in a large training room. It was filled with exercise equipment on one end, and a large padded area for sparring on the other. There were areas for target practice off to one side, and a track that ran around the whole room. All the trainees were currently standing on the sparring mats while their head trainers addressed them.

Al had been in this room a handful of times before, either as a kid while visiting his dad, or later on once Teddy became an Auror. It filled him with excitement to know that the dreams he'd developed during those visits as a kid were finally becoming a reality.

"This," said the Auror who'd introduced herself as Michelle Ferguson, "is the Robards Training Center, mostly referred to as the RTC. It was built a few years after the Second War to train the new generation of Aurors. You have access to this room through wand admittance at all times of day, and if you plan on doing any heavy lifting, you must be accompanied by a trainer or a fellow trainee who is at least in your weight class or above. Sparring must be supervised by a third party," she continued, shooting a pointed look at two of the older trainees standing near Ethan Longbottom, who nearly failed to contain a smirk at the sheepish expressions his friends wore.

"Your weight class will be determined today," Ferguson continued. "All of you. We're reassessing everyone, so you might end up in a slightly different group this time. You will then be assigned a trainer who will work with you when it comes to all physical training activities. You are not permitted to do anything without it being first approved by either your trainer, myself, or Sharkey."

At this, she gestured to the other Auror in the room. While Auror Ferguson seemed to be only about a decade younger than his parents, Al had to assume that Auror Sharkey wasn't even that much older than Teddy. He was a few inches taller than Al, so a handful of inches above six feet, with closely cropped light brown hair and a rather broad forehead and strong chin. His arms were thick and currently folded across his broad chest as he surveyed the trainees with penetrating dark eyes. He had a few scars on his face; one along his jaw and the other above his left eye, cutting down into his temple. It made him look even more intimidating than his stature already did. It surprised Al that not only was he training new recruits rather than working in the field, but that Ferguson seemed to be the one in charge of physical training rather than him.

Not that she was anything to turn your nose up at. She was slightly above average height for a witch, and Al was almost able to look her directly in the eye. Her hair was cropped close on the sides but longer on the top, swooping across her forehead. It was a deep red, very different from the color he typically saw amongst his family members and most likely colored to look that way. She seemed to be in extremely good shape, and the only thing that really gave away her age was the wrinkles that were beginning to form around her eyes and mouth, as well as the scars she wore to signify she'd seen a few years of action in the field.

"You'll have your weekly schedule set," Ferguson continued, "but any work in here you would like to do outside of your regular training needs to be scheduled by you. There's a signup sheet hanging on the wall by the door, so just put your name in the time slot you want and note what equipment you'll be using. I don't want to have to play referee when you lot get in any stupid squabbles because of scheduling conflicts, so follow these guidelines to the letter and we won't have any problems. Any questions?"

She glared at them all almost daringly, so Al was a bit surprised to see Eden Avery raise her hand out of the corner of his eye.

Al and Scorpius had both been surprised to see their fellow Slytherin on the day they'd moved into their quarters in the Auror housing. She hadn't said anything about her plans for after school to either of them, and Professor Simpson hadn't mentioned it either. Eden hadn't been surprised to see Al, but word hadn't seemed to have gotten around that Scorpius would be training to become an Auror as well.

Neither Al or Scorpius had had much to do with her during their years at school, other than her being a prefect with Scorpius. They never really saw or spoke to each other outside of classes, so Al didn't know what to expect in terms of her interactions with them. She'd seemed excited enough to see people that she knew there, and had even been friendly with Erin and Rose, who'd helped them move their stuff in. The girls had seemed just as surprised as Al and Scorpius were to see her there.

Al had to admit that the thing he was most curious about was to see how she'd actually do as an Auror, her five and a half foot stature not exactly intimidating.

"Yes, Avery?" said Ferguson.

"I was just wondering when we'd be doing our assessments for weight classes," she asked, looking down at the folder they'd been given after they passed their evaluations. "My schedule lists that as TBA."

"You'll have time to go back to your rooms and get changed after we finish up the tour and grab lunch, and then report back here," Ferguson said to the group at large. "We'll have a schedule posted as well as your group number and who will be doing your assessment. Any more questions?"

No one else raised their hand, and Ferguson nodded before signaling to follow as she and Sharkey made their way towards the door.

"Think we'll be in the same group?" Scorpius asked quietly as they made their way out of the training center.

"Might be," said Al. "Seeing as we're both new. Probably put Avery with us too."

"Still not quite used to that," said Scorpius, nodding at the girl a few feet in front of them, whose curly brown hair was pulled up in a high ponytail that bounced as she walked.

"How well do you know her?" Al asked. Scorpius gave a noncommittal shrug.

"The most I talked to her last year was during the times I wasn't talking to Rose," he admitted. "We saw each other a bit as kids, though. Our dads know each other."

Al nodded in understanding as they made their way down the hall outside the RTC, stopping after a few yards when they reached two doors across the hall, a sign on each to signify gender. Ferguson stopped and turned to face the trainees.

"Locker rooms," she said, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb. "You already have a locker with your name on it and there are instructions in your folder on setting your combination. Girls aren't allowed in the boys' and boys aren't allowed in the girls'. Everything else is pretty self explanatory. Just try to keep things from becoming a mess in there. I don't like getting complaints from Magical Maintenance."

They quickly moved on, coming out of the hall and into the large foyer that they'd first met up in. It was rather drab, with gray tiled floors and walls and four different hallways feeding into it. There were portraits of all former and current Auror office heads lining the wall behind the front desk where visitors checked in, which Al had thought was cool when his dad had first been promoted. Now it just felt weird to see his dad looking down at him and waving whenever he saw him.

They turned down the hallway to the right, Ferguson now falling a step behind Sharkey and letting him take the lead. "Any lectures or demonstrations will be held in the Moody Educational Center, or the MEC for short," Sharkey said, pronouncing it as a word rather than individual letters in his rough voice that had a slight Irish lilt to it. "Your schedule should show what lectures you have where and when. These aren't strictly divided up by year, seeing as some of the topics can be taught in various orders and the more people in a class, the better. Especially since there aren't that many of you to begin with."

They continued down the hall, passing various normal looking classrooms that had their doors propped open to show desks or tables set up. Further down the hall, there were rooms with double doors that were shut and didn't even have handles or locks on them. Sharkey stopped outside of one.

"These are the sim rooms," he explained. "You'll go through simulations during practical exercises, and you don't have access to these rooms without a trainer. So don't even try getting in, because you can't."

He looked at them all a bit threateningly before deciding he'd gotten his point across. They continued down to the end of the hall, where a portrait of the center's namesake hung, taking all of them in with his roving magical eye and gruff expression as they turned left into a hallway of glass doors.

"These rooms are for individual study or collaborative work," Sharkey explained. "First come, first serve basis. There are six of them, though, so chances are you'll find one open."

He turned and went back the way they came, this time going to the right of the portrait. This hallway was rather short and led to only one room, which Sharkey entered.

"Library and archives," he said as they trailed in behind him. It was much smaller than the Hogwarts library, but still decent. "Books are only to be taken out if you use them in one of the study rooms due to limited resources. First years don't have access to case archives unless they are found in this room, so don't go wandering through the archives room in Headquarters and think you can just snoop around. You get access to that on a selective level as a second year, and then even more as a third."

He walked back out of the library, signalling for them to follow him back out to the foyer again, leading them to the center and pointing down the hallway across from the one they'd just come out of.

"We won't bother giving you a tour of the dorms since you already had one," said Sharkey, "but I will restate some of the rules. Quiet hours start at midnight, which is when outside guests need to leave by. No staying overnight. If you decide to stay somewhere else, you need to notify either Eric or Betty before hand, depending on which one is working at reception. We're not trying to monitor your every move, but there are certain protocols that need to be in place in case of emergency situations. We need to know who's in the building at all times, so all guests must check in and out, just like everyone who steps foot in the Ministry.

"You don't have a curfew, but we do expect a certain level of responsibility, and failure to show it could result in probation, which will look different depending on your year. Cross the line one two many times, and you might even face expulsion from the program. We clear?"

He received numerous nods of understanding before leading them to the right again and down the final hallway and through a door into a smaller foyer that had an elevator at the end, a door on either side, and a circle desk with a young wizard sitting in the middle of it.

"Our offices," said Ferguson, gesturing to the door to the right with her and Sharkey's names on it, "and entry into Auror Headquarters," she pointed to the door opposite. "If you want to schedule a time to meet with either of us for any reason, you have to check with either Eric-" she gestured to the young wizard at the desk, who gave them a pleasant wave, "- or Betty, depending on who's at the front desk."

Sharkey pressed the button to call the elevator, which just managed to fit all of them. Al was used to the elevators in the Ministry by that point, so he handled the jerky trip rather well. They took the lift all the way down to the Atrium, stepping out and heading to the left.

"I'm sure you took note of the kitchen and small dining area in the dorms," Ferguson hollered back at them, "but should you ever wish to not do your own cooking, you have access to the cafeteria."

She led them into the large room that was very familiar to Al. He'd spent many lunches during his childhood here, coming to meet his dad and various other family members over the years.

"Lunch is provided free for you today," Ferguson announced once they'd all entered the cafeteria. "You have half an hour, and then it's back to change for your weight class evaluations. And a word of advice, don't eat anything too heavy. You'll regret that."

The other trainees began breaking off, very familiar with the cafeteria by now and knowing exactly where to go. It had been awhile since Al had been there, so he and Scorpius took a moment to familiarize themselves with the layout, Eden sticking close by.

"This is only my third time at the Ministry," she explained when she noticed them glancing at her. "I'm not exactly familiar with anything yet."

"No worries," Al assured her. "Scorp hasn't spent much time here either."

Scorpius gave her a reassuring smile as they grabbed plates and began perusing the food. By the time they'd found what they wanted and met back up, there was a group of trainees settled in at one of the tables. Scorpius led the way over, taking a seat next to a grinning Ethan as Al and Eden sat across from them.

"How's it all feeling so far?" asked Ethan, obviously excited to have them there.

"It's a lot to take in at times, but it's feeling bloody fantastic," said Scorpius with his own grin.

"Just wait till after our assessments today," said the wizard who was sitting next to Ethan. "You'll barely be able to function tomorrow."

"It's not _that _bad," Ethan said with an eye roll. "You can ignore him. He pretty much doesn't know how to have a conversation without exaggerating."

"That's not true!" their fellow trainee argued.

"Yes it is," the witch that Al had sat next to chimed in. This earned her a scowl from the wizard across from her.

"Oh, are you talking to me now? I think that's the first time you've said a word to me in weeks."

The girl rolled her eyes and gave Scorpius a pointed look as if to say _see what I mean?_

"I talked to you yesterday, Mase," she said with strained patience. "Remember?"

"Simply saying the word 'yes' isn't the same as having an actual conversation," he argued.

"Maybe we shouldn't scare off all the newbies on day one with all our issues, yeah?" Ethan chimed in, looking at his friends in amusement and disapproval.

"Right you are, Longbottom," the witch said with exaggerated decorum as she turned towards Al and stuck out her hand. "Don't believe we've had the pleasure. I'm Cora Thompson. Third year."

Cora Thompson had a slender face with dark eyes, brown skin, and black curly hair that was cut short and stuck up about an inch on the top of her head. There was a no nonsense attitude to her that Al liked immediately, and he smiled as he shook her hand. "Al Potter."

Her eyebrows shot up in recognition. "That's right. I heard we were getting a Potter this year. You look like your dad, so I should have realized. Sorry, is that annoying? People mentioning your dad?"

Al shrugged, a bit caught off guard by her straightforward question. "It depends on how they do it, I suppose. We have a good relationship and it's definitely not something I'm ashamed of. I suppose it bothers me if all I am to them is Harry Potter's son, but that would bother anyone, yeah?"

Cora nodded, a slightly impressed look on her face. "Fair enough."

"This is Mason Ayers," said Ethan, gesturing to the wizard sitting next to him who'd been arguing with Cora. "He's a third year as well."

Mason looked similar to Ethan, with short brown hair and a charming smile, though his eyes were a dark brown instead of bright blue like Ethan's. He was also a bit broader and, if Al remembered correctly from when they'd been standing, a few inches taller. Mason nodded at Al in greeting before directing his attention to Eden, who promptly introduced herself, followed by Scorpius.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Mason commented. "Got a nickname?"

"Most people just shorten it to Scorp. Sometimes Scor. That's about it," Scorpius said with a shrug.

"Scorp it is then!" said Mason. "Until I can find a more suitable nickname."

Ethan rolled his eyes once again as his friend went back to his lunch. "He's tried to get nicknames to stick with everyone," he explained. "It's only worked once."

"On who?" asked Eden.

"Good ol' Fergie," Mason said with pride. "Auror Ferguson, our trainer. I said it to her face once during my first year and she wasn't too happy, but it stuck among the trainees. I've even heard it said by some of the Aurors so it's spread there too."

His pleased smirk earned a few chuckles, and then two more trainees sat down next to Scorpius - a girl with chin length, dirty blonde hair and big blue eyes, and a boy with wavy black hair and olive skin. They introduced themselves as Zoey Altman and Isaac Pace.

"I came in with Ethan," said Zoey. "I recognize you all from Hogwarts, but I was in Ravenclaw."

"What were your houses?" Cora asked. They all answered simultaneously.

"Three Slytherins this year?" Mason asked in surprise. "Bet that's never happened before. I think you three are the only ones now that Tony's gone."

"We try not to pay much attention to houses now we're out of Hogwarts," Isaac chimed in. "The group above Mason, Cora, and I were all Gryffindors, and they were a bit clique-ish about it. We've done our best to not let that continue, and it's been working so far."

Al saw his own smile mirrored on Scorpius' face. He hadn't really been worried about any type of house stigma, seeing as most of that type of division hadn't really been present for years. But it was still nice to know right off the bat that it wouldn't be an issue.

"So you must have all been friends in school, then," said Zoey. "Since you were all in the same house."

"Al and I have been best friends since first year," said Scorpius, before pausing and looking uncertainly at Eden.

"Their girlfriends were in Gryffindor," she jumped in with a smirk. "Didn't have much time for Slytherin girls."

This brought good humored laughter from the whole table, and Al breathed a sigh of relief that Eden didn't hold their lack of complete loyalty to Slytherin house against them.

"Who are you dating?" Zoey asked curiously, being one of the only people there that would be likely to know the Gryffindor girls who were a year below her. Al shot a nervous glance at the wizard across from him.

It was easy to forget he was dating Ethan's younger sister. Until it came up in conversation. Ethan hadn't been around for any of their relationship beyond this summer. It would be interesting to adjust to him being a regular presence in their life. Not to mention a presence that was training to be very capable of causing Al bodily harm should he do anything to hurt Erin. Not that he planned to ever do anything of the sort. Still, he knew how protective older brothers could be, seeing as he was one himself.

"Rose Weasley?" said Scorpius, speaking up when Al didn't and phrasing her name as a question. Zoey grinned, possibly having known that the two had been close friends before dating. Everyone else besides Ethan either wore a look of shock or had a dropped jaw.

"You're dating the Minister's daughter?" Mason asked in shock. Scorpius' eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh," he said in realization. "I guess I am. I honestly hadn't really thought about it. She's always just been Rose to me."

Zoey clutched at her heart and let a sappy look overtake her face, which caused Isaac to grin and Cora to roll her eyes. "That's so sweet."

Scorpius turned slightly pink.

"What about you, Al?" asked Mason. "You dating the daughter of the Muggle Prime Minister or something?"

Al chuckled a bit nervously. "No," he said, shooting Ethan another nervous glance.

"Relax, Al," said Ethan with a reassuring smile. "It's not like I'm James. I won't threaten you with bodily harm every time it comes up."

Everyone who wasn't in the know looked at them curiously as Al smiled in relief. He nodded towards Ethan. "I'm dating his sister."

Cora choked on the drink she'd been in the middle of taking.

"Bloody Hell, you lot are just all interconnected, aren't you?" Mason said, a bit of awe in his voice.

"It gets better," Al said with a smirk at Ethan, who looked suddenly nervous and subtly shook his head at Al, but his silent plea was ignored. "Ethan's dating my cousin."

The uproar this caused was a bit larger than Al had been expecting. Zoey and Cora had both started shrieking out questions - Isaac asking them at a much more normal pitch - while Mason hollered enthusiastically and put Ethan in a headlock.

"WHAT?!"

"You have a _girlfriend?!"_

"I _knew _he was hiding something!"

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Can we meet her?!"

"All right, all right!" Ethan shouted over everyone else, his voice a bit muffled thanks to the tight grip Mason had on him. "I'll explain if you calm down!"

"Sorry," Zoey said a bit sheepishly as Mason released his hold on Ethan. "It's just like Isaac said, though. We figured you were holding out on us."

"How?" Ethan asked in surprise.

"Come on," said Isaac with a roll of his eyes. "All the secret letter writing, no interest in any of the girls you meet here or when we go out. Even when they flirt with you."

"Girls flirt with me?" Ethan asked in astonishment. Mason laughed heartily.

"Fuck, he really is gone if he hasn't so much as _looked _at another girl in months," he said through his laughter.

"How long have you been seeing her?" Cora asked.

"About a month," said Ethan, shrugging nonchalantly but failing to hide a very pleased grin.

"Really?" Al asked in surprise.

Ethan nodded. "Day after she got back."

This was news to Al. He'd known for a while that there was something between Molly and Ethan, but they hadn't done anything to confirm a relationship until a week ago when they'd barely left each other's sides the day everyone had gone to Al's parents' house for their annual summer Quidditch match. He'd just assumed it was brand new. Then again, he hadn't really asked questions. Ethan and Molly's new relationship had been overshadowed by the scene caused by Lily, Hugo, and Caleb that had prematurely ended the match.

At first, Al truly had felt sorry for Lily. She'd had her heart broken and had lost her best friend. Yes, part of it was her fault, but he knew there was more to it than that. However, the longer things went on and the more she remained stubborn and refused to see the part she'd played in the current mess that was her social life, the more his feelings became less sympathetic.

He surely hoped Neville had known what he was doing when he made her Captain. Al was having a hard time figuring out how it could possibly turn out well. Unless Lily came to her senses and significantly adjusted her attitude.

"Wait, she was still at Hogwarts?" asked Mason in confusion, pulling Al out of his thoughts about his sister and back into the conversation. "I thought you hung out with Dominique most weekends?"

Ethan began choking on his food, which he'd been unfortunate enough to have just taken a bite of. "I'm not dating Dom," he said when he managed to control his coughing.

"Wait, what? Isn't she your cousin?" Mason asked Al.

"He's got a lot of those," said Scorpius. "I wouldn't try and keep up."

"He's dating my cousin Molly," said Al, ignoring Scorpius' comment. "My Uncle Percy's oldest daughter."

"Percy Weasley has daughters?" asked Cora. "Are they as severe as he is?"

Al chuckled, thinking of the imposing figure his uncle struck as the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister.

"No," Ethan said with a grin. "Though she is brilliant."

"What's she doing, then?" asked Cora. "Now that she's out of school?"

Ethan turned slightly pink at this question and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Actually, she's got one more year left, so…"

"You bloody dog, you," said Mason enthusiastically, pulling Ethan into another headlock.

"Oh, do grow up, will you?" Cora said impatiently to Mason. "It's really not that big a deal. John was two years older than me."

This brought silence from Mason, who released a very red faced Ethan.

"We had to do the distance for a year too," said Zoey, gesturing to Isaac and clueing Al in to their relationship status. "I'm guessing you'll be off to Hogsmeade more often than not on our off weekends, yeah?" she asked, clearly delighted for her friend.

"Hopefully," said Ethan as he finished off the rest of his lunch. "She'll probably be pretty busy, though, seeing as she's Head Girl and all."

This brought another round of teasing, but Ethan didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed happier than Al could remember seeing him in a long time. Not since before his great-grandmother had passed away.

As they finished up lunch and continued getting to know one another, Al found that the nerves he'd been unwilling to admit he had leading up to today were now almost nonexistent. There was still hard work to be done, and he had no clue how things would actually turn out, but at least the people were brilliant.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's been forever, but I'm still here! Life has just been crazy with moving, but I'm feeling more settled now. And seeing as it is September 1st, I figured it was a good time to get back in it! I've even done some writing this past week, but I'm not as ahead in this story as I'd like to be. Another reason it's taken me a while to update. **

**I'd love to hear from you in the form of a review! This one was a lot of fun to write, and if you've read all my stories in this universe, you might recognize some of the trainees that Ethan mentioned in his letters to Molly in Snapshots.**

**So enjoy reading and reviewing, and welcome back to Hogwarts!**

**P.S. I was supposed to be at Universal this coming week but my trip got canceled due to the hurricane. So a pity review since I don't get to actually go to Hogwarts as planned this week would be acceptable. **


	8. Well the good old days may not return

Erin's footsteps echoed across the marble tiled floors as she followed Draco Malfoy through his large and elegant home. She'd only been to Malfoy Manor once before this summer, which was for the party they'd had after Scorpius and Rose had been made Heads. And now she'd be here every day of the week, doing work she'd dreamed of and still couldn't quite believe she'd actually been given the opportunity to do.

She'd taken a tour of the labs and offices a week before, but today was her first official day as a potioneer. Well, technically an apprentice. She had to be certified first to be an actual potioneer, and she had to work for at least two years before she could do the testing needed to qualify for the certification.

The labs and offices that Draco had set up years ago to run his business out of were on the ground floor on the opposite wing of the manor that his family occupied. As they made their way down the final hallway, the familiar smell of potions brewing reached Erin's nose, and she smiled in excitement.

"Sorry about the walk," Draco said over his shoulder as they walked past the labs and into a small library full of potions related resources at the end of the hall. "You'll be able to come through the Floo in here normally, but we've been having problems with the connection. Should be fixed by the end of the day."

"It's no problem," Erin assured him, determined to be as agreeable as possible on her first day. "I don't mind walking."

Draco gave her what she assumed was a small smile, but it was extremely brief. She'd never spent much time around Scorpius' dad, and her friend had rarely had much to say about his father. Not that he refused to talk about him, but outside of the context of Scorpius' own issues that had come from his father's past, he didn't talk about him much. Not to her, at least. She was in slightly uncharted territory as far as the older Malfoy went, but even though he seemed a bit severe, he also seemed kind. Not to mention excited about the work she was going to be doing.

"Everything in here is available to you, like I said last week," said Draco as he continued to the back of the library and through another door that led to his office. "And I don't mind at what hours you are here, as long as you lock the Floo when you leave."

He grabbed a parchment off his desk and handed it to her. "Your official apprenticeship agreement, including wages, hours, time off, and job expectations."

Erin took it with a nod, and then Draco was leading her out of his office, through the library, and back down the hall towards the labs.

"Just in time, boss!" a rather enthusiastic wizard said as Erin followed Draco into the lab with the name Kiran Burns on the door. Erin had met Kiran the first time she'd come to see the labs. He was average height and rather slender with black hair that had that perfected messy look to it. Like he did it on purpose. He'd been working with Draco for five years and had been his only other apprentice before Erin, and he'd been ecstatic to meet her. She had a feeling that was his general disposition. It was actually a bit comical to see him interacting with the rather straight-laced Draco.

"I added more peppermint and some honey, and now it doesn't taste nearly as ghastly as it did before," said Kiran as he ladled a steaming dark green potion into a small glass tumbler. Draco accepted the potion with a calculation expression, swirling it around in the glass before raising it to his nose. His eyes darted up to his employee as he got a whiff of it.

"This is tea, Mr. Burns," he said slowly. Kiran grinned and shook his head.

"Not just _any _tea. It's my very own remedy for everyday ailments. It's that adaptation of Pepper Up I've been working on in my spare time. It'll relieve minor aches and pains, headaches, hangovers, stomach aches, menstrual cramps, heartburn, sore throat, stuffy nose-"

"I get the picture," said Draco, moving to peer into the cauldron.

Kiran picked up a notebook that had been sitting open next to his cauldron and shoved it under Draco's nose. "Here are all the notes I have on it. Think it could be worth pursuing?"

Draco nodded slowly as he took the notebook and looked over Kiran's scrawled notes. "If it works, definitely. Have you tested it on everything you have listed here?"

"Not quite," Kiran admitted. "Just the ones that have check marks next to them."

"Well, then, come up with a plan for testing and we'll talk to Mungo's," said Draco, handing the notebook back to Kiran with a bit of pride in his eyes, "seeing as how we can do that a bit more easily now."

He shot Erin a grin then. "Kiran is interested in curative potions as well," said Draco. "You'll be working with him more than Pritchard or Madley."

Erin smiled at a beaming Kiran. She was thankful that he was the one she'd be doing most of her work with. Not that there was anything wrong with Graham Pritchard or Laura Madley, but they were both older, only a few years younger than Draco. Kiran had been at Hogwarts at the same time as Erin for two years. And she had a feeling he'd be a lot of fun to be around.

"You're right across the hall from me," said Kiran in excitement. "So if you need anything, don't even hesitate to ask."

"You remember where the storeroom is?" Draco asked as he led her across the hall. Erin felt a rush of excitement when she saw her own name on the door he opened.

"Over towards the kitchen, right?" she said as she followed him into the lab.

Draco nodded. "Your own shelves have already been filled with supplies, but should you need to replenish or find something a little more rare or obscure, that's where you'll find it. Just remember to mark it in the inventory when you do."

Erin nodded, paying attention to what he was saying but having a hard time focusing as she took in her very own lab. There were counters lining the walls and a long table in the center of the room. The only portion of the walls that didn't have some type of shelving was where the door to her supply closet was on the back wall. There was also a small fireplace in the right corner, but there were shelves above that as well. It was a bit dark, as there were no windows and the floor and walls were made of stone, but the fire and the many sconces on the walls helped quite a bit.

"Remember what I said about taking breaks," said Draco as he made his way back out the door. "Get some fresh air and some sun at least every few hours, if not more often than that. I'll leave you to familiarize yourself and get settled, then we'll get you started on something after lunch."

With a nod in farewell, he was gone, leaving Erin to let out her excitement without having to worry about being professional. She strolled around the room, her hand running across the smooth surface of the table as she slowly made her way to her supply closet. It was stocked full of just about every type of potion ingredients she could think of and then some. She'd always wanted to look through everything in the potions storeroom at Hogwarts, but she'd never had the chance to. Erin had a feeling that if she had, there would be fewer items there than what she had here.

After spending what felt like no time at all but was in reality a couple of hours taking inventory and doing some reorganizing, Erin moved onto the different equipment and tools she had that were lining the shelves of the wall opposite the one with the fire, organizing them to her liking as well. She knew that once she got into a rhythm of doing things she might change some of it around, but she was too excited to do nothing, and it helped her become more familiar with what she had available to her.

When it got close to lunch time, Erin wandered across the hall to Kiran's lab. His lab was set up much the same as hers, though the fire was in the opposite corner and it wasn't nearly as tidy. He was sitting on a stool at his work table and pouring over the notebook he'd shown Draco earlier, a fresh piece of parchment next to it and a quill in his hand that he was using to jot down notes. Hoping she wasn't disturbing him, Erin rapped her knuckles on the open door.

"Miss Longbottom, come in!" he said enthusiastically.

"Call me Erin," she said with a friendly smile as she stepped into the room. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all," he said with a shake of his head and a smile as he put down his quill and picked up his wand. There was a stool across from him a moment later, and Erin joined him at the table. "Getting settled all right?"

"I think so," she said. "It's a bit overwhelming, but I'm excited to get started."

"Well, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we're thrilled to have some new blood around here," said Kiran. "Me more than the others. They're all a bit stuffy."

Erin chuckled at his scrunched expression. "I take it you're on your own a lot."

Kiran gave a shrug. "A lot of the time. I don't mind it, but it'll be nice to have someone to work with on a more regular basis."

Erin nodded as he stood and walked over to a cauldron that was sitting on his fire and steaming, and she noticed that it was giving off a rather delicious smell. "What's that?"

"Lunch!" he said with a grin. "I basically live off soup, and I make a pot about once a week. This is my grandmother's special spicy chicken noodle recipe, complete with fresh and authentic Asian spices that she sent me last week."

"Where's she from?" Erin asked.

"China," he said as he grabbed two bowls from a shelf above his fire. "Just outside Beijing. My mother moved here after she left school for a liaison position at the Ministry, where she met my dad. Decided to get married and stay here after that, and now you have me and my brother."

He came back to sit across from Erin, surprising her by putting a bowl in front of each of them. Not wanting to be rude and realizing that she actually was rather hungry, she thanked him and blew on a spoonful to cool it down before tasting what turned out to be one of the most delicious soups she'd ever had.

"This is fantastic," she said as she made to take another bite. Kiran beamed with pride.

"So, what's your story?" he asked.

"Which part?" Erin asked in amusement.

"All of it!" said Kiran. "Or as much as you want to tell someone who's practically a stranger. You'll find I'm a bit of an open book, so don't feel pressured to reciprocate."

Erin smiled, already feeling more comfortable than she'd been expecting with Kiran. "Well, I'm afraid I'm full British, so nothing interesting there. I have an older brother and sister that I'm pretty close with, and I live with my best friend Rose, who I was in Gryffindor with. My mum runs the Leaky Cauldron, and my Dad teaches Herbology at Hogwarts."

"I remember him," he said with a grin. "He was one of my favorites."

Erin laughed. "He was a lot of people's favorite. And I say that in a completely unbiased way."

Kiran laughed. "I believe you. So, what's it like? Being the daughter of a beloved professor who also happens to be a war hero?"

Erin nearly choked on her soup at his blunt question. "It's all right," she managed to say. "My dad's not the most famous war hero, and pretty much everyone from the last dozen years or so had him as a professor, so it's never felt like a big deal. My best friend and my boyfriend have it worse."

Kiran smiled. "I'm assuming they're Weasleys, then?"

"Rose is," said Erin. "Al's a Potter."

Kiran's eyes widened to a comical size at her words. "No shit, really?"

Erin nodded, holding back a grin. It had been a long time since she really thought about how well known her best friend and boyfriend's family actually was.

"Oh, you're so lucky," Kiran gushed. "They ran a special on the family in the _Prophet_ this past reunion of the Battle of Hogwarts. He's damn fit."

Erin's eyes widened in surprise and she nearly choked on her soup.

"He's the one that's good friend's with Draco's son, right?" Kiran continued, completely ignoring her coughing. "I heard that they're both training to be Aurors."

"They are," said Erin, once her throat was no longer burning. "Started today, actually."

"Have you always been close with them?" asked Kiran

"Well, I only really got to know Scorpius the past few years, but like you said, he's best friends with Al, and now he and Rose are together so he's around a lot," Erin explained. "I grew up with Rose and Al, and he and I only started dating this past school year."

Kiran shook his head, a far off and dreamy look on his face. Erin's eyebrows rose in amusement as Kiran let out a sigh and went back to his soup. "Should I be worried about you making a move on my boyfriend, then?"

Kiran chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, he's a little young for me. I generally prefer older blokes."

Erin smiled as he smirked at her. "Are you seeing anyone, then?"

"Nope," said Kiran, slouching a little in his seat and showing the first signs of anything close to a negative emotion. "I _was_ seeing someone, but he actually ended things about a month ago."

"Sorry," Erin said with a grimace, feeling bad for asking. But Kiran shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. We were only together for a couple months. Story of my life, really. My brother says it's because I come on a little too strong."

Erin bit back a smile, having gotten a taste of what his brother was probably right about with all the rather straightforward questions she'd received over the last few minutes. "He older or younger than you?"

"Older," he said with a roll of his eyes. "But only by

like thirteen months so it hardly counts at this point in life, no matter how much he seems to think it does."

They shared a laugh and finished their soup, Kiran continuing to ask Erin prying questions that she tried to answer as diplomatically as possible. She knew she was going to enjoy working alongside Kiran. It would definitely never be boring. Before she knew it, their lunch break was over and Draco was back. Erin was surprised to see him give her an actual smile.

"Ready to start your career in potions?"

Erin didn't even try to contain her grin as she nodded, hoping Rose was having at least half as good a first day as she was.

* * *

Rose's first day was not, in fact, going as well as Erin's.

First, she'd received an owl after getting out of the shower, informing her that the Floo was out at her office. This meant that she now had to rush if she wanted to get there on time. Since the building was on the Muggle side of London, she couldn't just Apparate, especially since she'd never actually been there before. Her interview had taken place at a cafe. To make matters worse, she'd been in such a rush as she walked through the early morning crowd in London, that she'd carelessly bumped into someone and spilled half her tea, some of it landing on her blouse.

At least the travel mug her mum had bought her was cute.

Another positive was that she was only a ten minute walk from her office. That had been part of the appeal in moving where they did. Not wanting to start her first day off in too negative a spirit, Rose allowed this fact to cheer her up, only to be almost immediately disheartened upon her arrival at work.

Bobbin Books had been around for quite a while, but was still a relatively small company. Its offices were on the ground floor of a ten story building full of different businesses. Rose had barely made it through the glass door with the company name on the front of it before realizing she was in for an interesting day. And not necessarily the good kind of interesting.

The front room was a bit dated, warn blue carpet covering the floors and dingy windows that faced west towards the street. Two desks sat perpendicular to each other, one that was longer and set up for two people with its back to the two windows, and the other in front of an office door. There were two other doors on the wall opposite the windows, and all three doors had names on them. To the right of where she stood was a counter and a sink with cabinets above it, and between the two doors that ran perpendicular to the counter was a large electronic looking machine that had papers strewn around and stacked on it and was currently beeping.

No one was in the room.

"Hello?" Rose called out tentatively, closing the door behind her so she could take out her wand and do a quick cleansing charm on her blouse. No one answered, but she heard people talking in the office that was straight ahead and behind one of the desks, both of which were cluttered with papers and writing tools and - Rose was surprised to note - a computer. There was also a phone at each work station, and two were currently ringing.

"-and that if he expects to keep working here, he can get off his arse and come into work the Muggle way, I don't care if he's my damn nephew," a gruff voice was saying as the door Rose had heard voices behind opened abruptly, showing the back of a slightly plump witch that was a good two decades older than Rose. She recognized her immediately as Dorothy Franks, one of the editors and her new supervisor.

"Yes, sir," Mrs. Franks said, her tone light but obviously a bit put out as she closed the door behind her and let out a frustrated sigh, jumping in surprise when she turned and saw Rose still standing by the front door.

"Oh, right," said the older witch, her hand going to her chest as she recovered from her momentary fright. "It's your first day, isn't it? I'm terribly sorry we're such a mess right now," she continued as she walked over to the still beeping machine. Rose watched as Mrs. Franks began pushing buttons, failing to stop the beeping as she continued talking. "I'm glad I remembered this morning to owl you, otherwise this day would be completely shot to - oh, for the love of-"

The beeping had not stopped, and Mrs. Franks took to pulling at the machine in different places, roughly sliding out compartments that were filled with different types of paper. Rose watched with wide eyes as Mrs. Franks let out a growl of frustration and began pulling out the stacks of paper as the beeping continued, and it only stopped once she'd seemed to completely empty the machine. She sagged in relief and dropped the final stack of paper she was holding onto the top of the machine, pushing back the few locks of gray streaked brown hair that had come loose from the rather tight updo she had it in.

"Please, feel free to help yourself to a scone or make yourself a cup of tea," Mrs. Franks said with a strained smile at Rose. "I'll be with you in _just _a moment."

She then hurried over to the desk in front of the office she'd just come out of, picking up the phone and answering hurriedly. Rose turned towards the counter where a box of scones was sitting, picking up a blueberry one and listening as Mrs. Franks immediately began apologizing to whomever was on the end of the line.

"Yes, so sorry about that. We're having some difficulties with our power and in the middle of some staffing changes...yes, that date will still work just fine...yes, once again, so sorry about that. We're trying to - yes, thank you. We'll be in touch soon."

With a sigh, she pressed a button on the phone's base, which caused the other phone to stop ringing as she answered the other call.

"Bobbin Books? Yes, hi, Linda...No, he's not in yet. I'll make sure and have him call you back the moment he gets a chance...Right, of course, so sorry about the wait."

Mrs. Franks hung up the phone and let out another heavy sigh, though this one sounded a bit more relieved. Rose couldn't help doing the same, thankful that at least some of the chaos she'd entered into had been controlled.

"I'm so sorry about all this," she said to Rose, making her way across the room and to the door on the right that had her name on it. "I'm afraid you'll be thrown to the wolves a bit today, but I'll try to help you get your footing as much as possible."

Rose followed Mrs. Franks silently into her office, shutting the door behind her as the phone on Mrs. Franks desk began to ring. She indicated a seat across from the desk for Rose to sit in before moving around it to her own chair and answering the phone.

"Sammy, now is really not a good time, love," she said as soon as she picked up the receiver, wedging it between her ear and her shoulder as she attempted to organize the mess of parchments and manuscripts that was covering her desk. "I know it's a big deal, but I've got a new employee and Danny might not even be...all right, fine. I'll meet you for lunch?"

Rose looked around the room as her new boss made what sounded like lunch plans of a personal nature. There was cover art from books framed and lining the wall to her right - some she recognized and some she didn't. There was a leather armchair in the right corner with a small table next to it and a coffee table in front of it. Both were stacked with books and parchment. To the left was a fireplace, the mantle and the wall surrounding it filled with pictures of what appeared to be Mrs. Franks' family. Rose recognized a boy in one of the pictures as someone she'd seen at Hogwarts, though perhaps a year or two below her and in a different house, as well as a girl who might have been a second year. The other two boys in the pictures looked nearly identical and too young for Hogwarts.

"So sorry about that," said Mrs. Franks after she hung up the phone and continued organizing her desk. "There's been some trouble at school with the twins, and my husband and I haven't had a chance to really sit down and discuss it. My plan was to take you to lunch for your first day, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow because I really shouldn't put this off. I might be a working mother, but I've always believed that family comes first and no matter how crazy things might get here, family is what counts. Mr. Bobbin doesn't always like it, but seeing as he knows this place would fall apart without me, he keeps his mouth shut about it. Not that it isn't falling apart already."

She paused for a breath, cringing when the phone in the outer office rang once again. "It'll be forwarded either here or to Grant's office eventually. Let's hope it's his."

Rose could only sit there and nod, blinking a bit rapidly as she watched Mrs. Franks.

"Sorry if that was all a bit much," she continued, finally ceasing her organizing and pulling open her top desk drawer to retrieve a binder. "I tend to talk when I'm stressed and I'm a bit of an open book, which fits my profession rather well, I might add."

Despite her slightly flustered state, Mrs. Franks had a smile on her face, her eyes squinted into slits as she attempted to flatten her flyaway hairs. Rose couldn't help smiling back at her.

"It's fine," said Rose.

"And I'm sorry that this place is such a mess today too," Mrs. Franks continued. "We're coming up on multiple deadlines and things just haven't been working properly. Of course, you know the Floo is out," she said with a gesture towards her fireplace, "and I'm afraid Mr. Bobbin's assistant is taking that to mean he doesn't have to come in today seeing as he lives all the way across town. He's only been with us for a few months and I really didn't see it working out this long, but he's Mr. Bobbin's nephew and you know how family can be.

"I'm sorry, I should really stop talking," Mrs. Franks said with a slightly embarrassed tone. "The last thing I want to do is gossip first thing and help you form opinions of everyone before you've even met them. Let's get you started, then."

She flipped open the binder, beginning to talk Rose through some of the everyday workings of the office, but something had become apparent to Rose the moment she'd walked in, and she found she couldn't let Mrs. Franks continue before clarifying. Thankfully, it wasn't long before her new employer paused and gave Rose her opening.

"I'm sorry," she began, feeling a bit foolish at having to ask the question, "but am I right in understanding that you publish both magical _and _Muggle literature?"

Mrs. Franks looked at her with wide, shocked eyes, completely taken aback. "You didn't know that?" she asked incredulously. "Oh, good heavens, how could we have possibly - well, never mind. Yes, we do both. I oversee the magical literature, and Grant - Mr. Turner - takes care of the Muggle side. He's not in yet, though, but he should be soon and you'll meet him then. Since we have both magical and Muggle clients coming through our doors, we keep things magic-free in the outer office, which is where you will be along with Rita. She's Mr. Turner's assistant and she's really lovely. The only Muggle we have working here, but her sister is a witch so she knows all about magic.

"You won't have to deal with any of our Muggle business that much since you're going to be my assistant, but your desk is outfitted with a computer and phone so you can help deal with some of that. We've actually found some of the Muggle technology to be quite useful for things like scheduling and communication, so we use it throughout the office. Oh!" she said suddenly, her eyes widening. "You _do _know how to use a computer and a phone, right? I think it was one of the requirements in the job description."

Rose nodded, Mrs. Franks immediately relaxing in relief. "It's been a while, but I have my N.E.W.T. in Muggle Studies and my grandparents are Muggles, so I used to play games and things on their computer growing up."

Mrs. Franks smiled. "Oh, yes! Of course, everyone knows your mother is Muggle born. I think I remember saying to Jerry - Mr. Bobbin - that you would probably be very familiar with the Muggle side of things, and since you were hired to work for me and I do the magical publishing, well, that's probably why it never came up in the interview. Of course, you'll still be having to use the computer, and it'll be quite a bit different from what you're used to, especially if it's been a while." Her smile faltered a bit, but she bounced back quickly. "Well, it's a start, at least. I'll have Rita walk you through the basics of the programs you'll be using. She should be here soon along with Mr. Turner. They had a breakfast meeting with an author we've been having some trouble with."

Rose nodded in understanding, and Mrs. Franks went on to talk about daily tasks and responsibilities that she would have. A lot of it was administrative and clerical type work, which she'd been prepared for. Everyone started at the bottom. But, seeing as they were a rather small company, it left the door open for her to step up in other roles when the need presented itself.

"There might be some manuscripts here and there that I'll have you look through," said Mrs. Franks as she handed Rose the binder that contained things like phone numbers and passwords and information on clients as well as a detailed description of her job - which was actually a bit vague in some places - and company policies. "Not often and not right away, but eventually."

They made their way out into the outer office, and Mrs. Franks helped Rose organize the mess that was her new desk, informing her that the position had been empty for a while and that they were all looking forward to being full staffed once again. Apparently, Rose's predecessor had taken maternity leave, only to decide at the last moment possible that she wouldn't be coming back at all.

"We were going to add another desk when you started," Mrs. Franks explained, "but we've had to adjust."

"Are you still planning on hiring someone else?" asked Rose.

Mrs. Franks nodded. "If we can find someone. It's not that easy to find someone who is familiar with both Muggle and magical culture and actually wants to do this. We've always been a six people operation, and we were hoping to grow a bit when we added you, but it looks like we'll have to wait a bit on that."

An hour later and Rose felt things were at least decently organized around her desk. Mrs. Franks retreated to her office after a phone call came in, and Rose was left by herself with the instructions to familiarize herself with the information in her binder, and to take a message if a phone call came in.

"Rita will probably be the one to usually take the calls, especially at first, but that's on you whenever she's not here," were Mrs. Franks' parting words as she forwarded the call that had come in to her office, disappearing behind the closed door.

It was silent except for the sound of both Mrs. Franks and Mr. Bobbin on the phone, and the ambience of London traffic. Rose took the opportunity to take a few deep breaths, trying to process the hectic morning that was sure to lead to an even more overwhelming day. She closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands, her elbows on the desk propping herself up.

She could do this. As underprepared and overwhelmed as she felt, she could do this. It would take time to feel entirely comfortable and confident in what she was doing, but she knew she would get there. She just had to take it one task and one day at a time, and she would get the hang of things. Though it was rather apparent that she would have days where she really couldn't predict how anything would go. Unpredictability wasn't something Rose handled that well, but she did note that the previous school year had prepared her to deal with it a little better.

The phone on her desk ringing made Rose jump in surprise. It was now half past nine, Rita and Mr. Turner hadn't shown up yet, and both Mrs. Franks and Mr. Bobbin were still on the phone. With a calming breath, Rose reached forward and picked up the receiver, collecting herself before speaking in what she hoped was a confident voice.

"Bobbin Books?"

"Rose! Hello, dear. How's your first day been?"

Rose slumped back in her seat in relief, the chair creaking a bit as it reclined and twisted slightly. "Hi, Mum. How'd you get this number? I didn't even know I'd have a phone."

"Oh, I just looked it up the Muggle way," said Hermione.

"So you knew they do Muggle literature too?" asked Rose, not wanting to admit her ignorance but unable to not be vulnerable with her mother at the moment.

"Yes, of course," said Hermione. "I hadn't realized you didn't."

"Yes, well, it's been an eye-opening day," Rose said with a sigh.

"Is it going well, though?" her mother asked, her voice excited and eager. Rose couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm.

"I guess so," she said, doing her best to keep her voice from carrying. "I haven't met everyone yet, but Mrs. Franks is who I will be primarily working for, and she's nice. It's a bit crazy here today with their Floo not working and one of their employees failing to show up, so I imagine it won't always be this chaotic."

Hermione chuckled. "It always feels a bit like that on your first day, no matter what the job is. But you'll get the hang of it."

"Thanks," said Rose, grateful for her mother's encouragement. "And thank you for stopping by last night. It's strange to not be living with you and Dad and Hugo anymore, even though I'm used to it at school. It's different now that it's permanent."

"I'm glad we were able to," her mother said. "And I know what you mean. I think your dad misses you more now than he did when you were away at school."

Rose gave a melancholy chuckle. "Well tell him I love him and that I'll see you all for dinner on Friday."

"I will. Are you doing anything to celebrate tonight? Is Scorpius free to take you out? I'm not sure how all that works with their free time. It was much different when your dad did his training."

"They're free in the evenings, but, no, he's not," said Rose, her spirits sinking once again. "His, um, godfather is taking him out tonight."

"Godfather?" asked Hermione, surprise evident in her voice. "Who's his godfather?"

"Theo Nott?" said Rose uncertainly. "I actually met him on Friday. He's been out of the country for a long time. Scorpius hadn't seen him or really even heard from him for a few years."

"I see," said her mother, her voice taking on a slight edge, but it vanished almost instantly. "Well, I'm sure that's nice for him. And it'll probably be nice to just relax after your first day."

"Yeah," Rose agreed with a sigh. "Al's going out with James and Teddy, so Erin and I are planning on ice cream and wine and a movie."

"Sounds perfect," said Hermione, and the smile in her voice caused Rose to grin as well.

They exchanged heartfelt goodbyes before hanging up, leaving Rose feeling uplifted, despite some of the uncertainty that she felt about Scorpius' godfather creeping in again. It was such a nice change to know her mother was now just a phone call away during work hours. As Minister, her mother had always had ways of communicating with those she needed to in the Muggle world, and Rose was thankful that her mother wasn't planning on restricting the use of her telephone to only business purposes. Not to mention the fact that she was a very busy witch, and even taking five minutes out of her day to call her when she didn't have to had meant a lot to Rose.

And as the day wore on and more things went wrong than right, she was able to keep in mind that she'd get the hang of it, and that she had plenty of people supporting her no matter what.

* * *

**A/N: Hello lovely readers! Ready for the weekend? I sure am. Thought I'd give you a little something to help get you there! Anyone relate to either of these first days? I am always looking for inspiration when it comes to different things that happen with my characters, so any good work anecdotes or coworker quirks you want to send my way, I'd be happy to get them. I'm always happy to find inspiration and include things people can relate to. Also, any overall thoughts on the chapter? I know we're just kind of going through the motions right now, but ground work is being laid and I've got stuff planned! If you're reading this story, you've probably read my other ones, so you know it just might take a while. Hope it's all worth the wait!**

**As always, your reviews are appreciated and inspire me to update quicker! I'd love to hear from you. Also, ****I'm trying to keep it as even as possible, but ****I'd love to know who's POV you enjoy reading from the most!**


	9. Slow down you're doing fine

As he sat at the bar of the restaurant in Muggle London his godfather had said to meet him at, Scorpius checked his watch for the tenth time. He'd been waiting for almost fifteen minutes now and was doing his best not to grow concerned at the continued absence of his godfather. As far as he knew, Theo had spent the day visiting with some old friends from school, so everything was probably fine. Not that he had any reason to believe it wasn't.

If he were honest, Scorpius would be able to admit that his concern came from the unreliability his godfather had shown over the past few years, which led to a fear of him disappearing once again and without warning. So it was with a sigh of relief that Scorpius finally spotted his godfather entering the restaurant and making his way toward him as he lifted his eyes from his watch.

"Sorry I'm late, kid," Theo said, a lopsided smile on his face as he shook Scorpius' hand and clapped him on the back. "Had a run in with a wizard who I used to do some business with. Our professional relationship didn't end well."

Scorpius chuckled at the comical grimace Theo wore as he took a seat at the bar. "Does that happen often?"

Theo gave a dismissive wave. "Comes with the territory. Nothing I can't handle. Enough about me, though! How was your first day?"

A smile broke out on Scorpius face as memories of the day flooded him. It had been overwhelming for sure, but so incredibly affirming as well. Part of him had still been a bit nervous and maybe doubtful that he'd made the right decision, but he didn't feel that way now.

"It was brilliant," he gushed to his godfather. "The trainers are definitely intimidating, but they really know their stuff and I can tell they're going to work really hard to make sure we do too. They gave us a tour of the facilities and then we did physical evaluations, which was one of the most extenuating things I've ever gone through. They basically pushed us as far as we could go and then split us into groups. It's just me and Al in my group, so we'll do all of our physical training together, for the most part. We start all the lectures and more structured training tomorrow."

Scorpius continued filling his godfather in on the different courses and topics he'd be studying and what his fellow trainees were like. They were both on their second drinks when he'd finally covered just about everything, and Theo shook his head with an amused smile on his face.

"It's bloody insane to think about where I was at your age," he said a bit wistfully. "You look so much like your dad did then, but I don't think you could be more different."

Scorpius furrowed his brow after taking a drink of his beer and setting it on the bar. "I'm not sure if I'm meant to take that as a compliment or not."

"It's not supposed to be anything other than an observation," Theo said with a shrug. "Drake's a good friend who turned into a good man, but it took him awhile to get there, and we weren't all able to do it as well as he did."

Theo paused to take a swig of his drink, finishing it and signaling to the bartender for a refill before continuing. "You didn't have to face all the shit we did at your age, which is bound to make you into a different type of person. Especially since your parents did a bang up job when it came to raising you. Unlike ours did."

There was a bitterness in his tone that Scorpius couldn't ignore. He knew that his dad had made some form of peace with his upbringing and the part his family had played in the war, but Theo didn't appear to have done the same.

"Anyway, I'm just really proud of you, kid," Theo continued, his disgruntled attitude disappearing so quickly that Scorpius took a second to catch up to where the conversation now was. "Now fill me in on what I've missed. What's up with this girl, and why the hell did you think it was a good idea to take up with a Weasley?"

Scorpius laughed at the teasing comment, but his smile fell away a second later when he noticed the look on his godfather's face. He wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked like a mix between disappointed and frustrated.

"Oh," said Scorpius, unable to hide just how taken aback he was as his uncle continued to stare expectantly at him. "I… I'm not sure what you want me to-"

He was cut off by Theo abruptly bursting into laughter, his smile brightening up his face and showing his crooked teeth as he shook his head in amusement.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," said Theo, his voice full of mirth as Scorpius continued to stare at him with wide eyes. "I was joking, Scorpius," his godfather said, giving him a reassuring look and clapping him on the shoulder. Scorpius smiled and breathed easier.

"Good God, you scared me," said Scorpius, his voice coming out in a nervous chuckle.

"That was the point," Theo said with a smirk. "But seriously, fill me in. What's she like?"

"Well," Scorpius began, unable to keep from smiling as thoughts of Rose completely took over his brain, "she's brilliant, for one thing. Top of the class in most subjects. We were Heads together this year, but we've been friends since we were fourteen. She was actually the first person besides Al that I felt like I could really be myself around at school. There's just always been something about her that makes me feel...safe, I suppose. Completely accepted for who I am while at the same time pushing me to be better. I sort of had a bit of a tough time with all that this year. I let all these stupid doubts and insecurities get to me, but she was there through all of that, you know? Even when we both made mistakes, I knew I could always count on her. She's got more faith in me than I deserve."

An impressed look crossed Theo's face as he lifted his fresh glass of beer to his lips. "I was expecting something along the lines of how nice her legs are," he said with a smirk. Scorpius grinned.

"That's just a bonus," he said, chuckling in amusement when Theo nearly choked on his beer.

"Fucking hell, kid," he said once he'd caught his breath. "You sure did grow up. I remember when you used to blush every time I talked about birds."

"I was thirteen!" Scorpius protested. "I'd only just started to realize that girls existed."

"Did you know that Al actually cornered me one of the nights he stayed that last Christmas and asked me a load of questions?"

"About what?" Scorpius asked, surprised and curious.

"Oh, I'd made some comments about Pansy that were a bit - as your mother would say - off color, and he'd apparently been having a tough time of it with trying to get information out of his dad."

Scorpius burst out laughing, imagining a thirteen-year-old Al eager and inquisitive. "What the hell did you end up telling him?"

"Some shite about how sex makes you lose your magic if you do it wrong."

They both laughed once again, the conversation morphing into retelling of memories, both ones they shared and ones they didn't. Scorpius was able to fill his godfather in on some of the things he'd missed during his prolonged absence, and Scorpius even got a few stories out of Theo as well, which wasn't easy to do. He'd never talked much about himself, giving himself a mysterious air that Scorpius wasn't sure was on purpose or not.

"You know something?" Theo said as they made their way out of the restaurant over an hour later. "You're a lot more fun to hang out with now that you can drink."

Scorpius laughed, his spirits high and his head slightly fuzzy after a day full of what felt like wonderful new beginnings. "You're more fun to hang out with now that Dad doesn't have to hang around and cover my ears every time you curse."

Theo let out a loud laugh, probably a bit more boisterous than it would have been had he been sober as they began to make their way towards the Leaky Cauldron. "Merlin, did he ever have a wand up his arse about stuff like that when you were a kid. He really did drop the ball on making sure you stayed on the straight and narrow, didn't he?"

Scorpius was about to agree automatically, until his godfather's words actually made it through his alcohol induced haze. "What?" he asked in confusion. "In what way am I not on the straight and narrow?"

Theo rolled his eyes, waiting to answer until a group of giggling young women made their way past them. "You're dating a _Weasley_," he said emphatically. "And not just any Weasley either. A _Granger-Weasley._ Those two were practically Drake's enemies in school along with Potter. Being friends with Al is one thing, but I never would have guessed that Drake would be able to stand being in the same room with those two. Let alone you dating one of their spawn. I mean-"

"Wait," said Scorpius, stopping in his tracks and hoping this was just another one of Theos jokes. "You're not serious, are you?"

Theo turned and looked at his godson with a shrug and an innocent expression. "Yeah, a bit. I'm sure she's an alright girl, but you're only asking for trouble for your family. Weasley _hates _your dad. He may play it like everything's all good and fine and forgotten, but that ginger twerp was always the best at holding a grudge. At some point, Weasley will find a way to drive a wedge between the two of you and he'll make it all fall apart."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Scorpius had always gotten along so well with all of Rose's family. Including her father. It was just a year ago that he'd pulled her dad aside before he and his wife left Malfoy Manor to tell them how much he appreciated them coming, even though he knew how hard it was for them. Ron had seemed sincere when he thanked Scorpius for his words and for welcoming them. And he'd given no indication since then that he was unhappy with the change in his relationship with Rose.

Except for that slight bit of tension on the platform.

"Uncle Theo, come on," Scorpius tried to reason. "It's not like that. Whatever things were like when you were in school, it's changed."

Theo gave an amused and unconvinced snort as he began making his way down the street once more. "Things don't change _that_ much."

"Okay, fine," Scorpius relented as he followed after Theo. "Let's say, for the sake of arguing, that you're right. Why? What's he done in the past to make you think he'd do something like that?"

Expecting a string of retorts and incriminating examples, Scorpius was surprised to see his uncle bite his tongue. They continued walking in silence for a few more blocks, Theo only speaking up when he stopped outside of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Look," he said a bit tersely, "I don't think now is the time to get into it, but just be careful, all right? If being with her is what makes you happy, then of course I want that for you, kid. I just didn't want you to be completely caught off guard if it all turns to shit, all right?"

Scorpius sighed and rubbed his hand over his face in exhaustion. As much as he'd enjoyed his first day of training, it had already been a long and tiring day. This night was supposed to be relaxing and carefree. And Scorpius didn't know where to go from here.

Because he loved Rose. He wasn't doubting that. But he also didn't want to doubt his godfather. Not now that he was finally back in his life.

"All right," Scorpius eventually said. "All right, I'll be careful. But I'm only saying that because you're my godfather so it's basically your duty to look out for me. I know that's all you're trying to do."

The pinched expression finally left Theo's face, and he slung his arm around Scorpius' shoulder and offered him a grin. "You're pretty smart, kid, you know that?"

With a smile that infectious aimed at him, Scorpius had no choice but to return it. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

"It wasn't all bad, was it?" Erin asked as she sank down to sit on the floor next to Rose. They were still in the process of collecting the proper pieces of furniture, and the couch they'd originally acquired secondhand had ended up infested with fleas. Their dads had been all for trying to find a way to remedy the situation and salvage the couch, but Rose was thankful when their mothers had sided with her and Erin, who could both barely look at the couch without their skin crawling. Thankfully, Erin had always had a fondness for comfort, and had a rather large collection of oversized pillows, which were now spread out over the rather plush white rug they'd placed over the slightly course carpeting.

"No," said Rose with a sigh. "It wasn't _all_ bad."

Upon arriving home - walking once again as the Floo had still been having trouble working - she'd dropped her bag and kicked off her shoes while announcing she was quitting before flopping down onto the pillows and staring up at the ceiling. She hadn't really meant it, but part of her wished she was the type of person who could actually make an irresponsible and rash decision like that. As it was, she'd been raised by a mother who taught her how to make logical and practical decisions, and a father who encouraged her to never take anything for granted and to tough it out. So as difficult as her day had been, quitting wasn't an option. And her response to Erin's question was honest. It hadn't been _all _bad.

"The witch I'll be doing most of my work for is perfectly lovely," she continued. "A little chatty, but in a friendly way. I didn't see much of Mr. Bobbin, which was fine seeing as it was a rough day for him. Didn't sound very happy most of the time when I heard him through his office door. Oh! Did I mention they do magical _and _muggle publishing? Something they failed to mention during my interview? Of course, I'll be doing more work in magical publishing, since that's what Mrs. Franks does, but I have to have all this Muggle technology knowledge, which would have been a nice thing to know so I could've made sure I was up to speed during the summer. There's another girl who works in the outer office with me, and she mostly works for Mr. Turner, but she's a Muggle so she knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. I felt like an idiot."

She paused to let out a sigh and rub her tired eyes. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure there's something going on there."

"Going on where?" Erin asked.

"Between Turner and Rita, his assistant," Rose clarified. "Mrs. Franks said she was perfectly lovely, but she and Turner were out for a business breakfast this morning so they came in late, and something had obviously happened because he walked straight into his office without even a glance at me while Rita started banging around at her desk in a huff, which she actually shares with me. It took her a good minute to notice me. She did help me out a bit with getting up to speed on how things work, but whatever her earlier frustrations were messed with her attitude a bit."

Erin let out a sigh and flopped down next to Rose, their heads next to each other on a giant green pillow that Rose had always been particularly fond of and tended to claim during any sleepovers they'd had over the years.

"How'd the day end, though?" asked Erin.

"Not too horribly," Rose said with a shrug against the pillow. "Mrs. Franks was on the phone and in her office most of the day, but she promised she'd take me to lunch tomorrow and would have a lot more flexibility in general. I mostly did some organizing and familiarized myself with how they do things today, so hopefully I can get into some of the work I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow."

She felt Erin nod next to her. "Good. And I'm sure it will get better. Sounds like it was an off day for everyone."

"I suppose," Rose said with a sigh, and then rolled onto her side so she could see her best friend's profile. "What about you, though?"

It was obvious immediately that Erin had been holding in her excitement to allow Rose to vent about her day, because a brilliant smile lit up her face, no matter how much she seemed to want to try and contain it.

"Will you hate me if I say it was bloody brilliant?"

Rose laughed, truly happy that at least one of them had been able to have the type of day they'd both dreamed of. "Of course not. Tell me everything."

Erin turned so she faced Rose, immediately beginning to gush about everything she'd gotten to do.

"Kiran's a riot," she said with a chuckle after she'd thoroughly exhausted the topic of her own personal lab and had moved on to the people she worked with. "I'm so glad I'll be working with him more than Pritchard or Madley. They're more the quiet, studious type, and you know I've always learned and worked better by talking things through. They're both absolutely brilliant, though."

She continued to gush for a few more minutes, obviously very excited about the work she was getting to do. It was one of those moments where - no matter how difficult her own day had been - it was thrilling for Rose to realize that they'd finally ended up here. On their own with jobs and futures that they'd been dreaming of actually beginning to happen.

"You know what's mad?" said Rose after Erin finally fell silent. "This is all real. Us living here together and going to our jobs. I know mine isn't ideal at the moment, but I suppose it's where I'm supposed to be right now. And it's all just the beginning."

"I know," said Erin, a giddy smile on her face. "I know it won't always be easy either. I know my days are probably going to get longer once I have more work to do and I might come home hating my job at times, but I think the whole dreaming about doing this for years will help me get through it."

"That's what got me through today with my sanity intact," Rose said with a chuckle. "That and my mother's phone call."

Erin smiled. "What did you talk about?"

"Work," Rose said with a shrug. "Plans. How much my dad misses me."

"When you're actually in London and not at Hogwarts?" Erin asked with a chuckle.

"I think it's knowing I'm close but not actually getting to see me," Rose said with an affectionate smile. "Which I get, I think."

"We should get a phone," said Erin, her voice filled with excitement at the prospect. "They have a phone and so do my parents. Do you know if the boys have one?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't remember. Fred's all about the mobile phones that the Muggles have had for ages now. They still don't work as well with magical interference as an actual phone line, though."

"Leave it to Freddie to come up with a way to make them actually work," said Erin.

"He probably will."

"Then we'll all have to get one and everyone will be trying to talk to us all the time. We'll be tied to the things just like Muggles are."

Rose laughed. "The people I work with have them, so there's a chance I'll have to as well."

"Could be quite fun, actually," said Erin. "We do live in a Muggle building. It'll probably work all right here. Maybe I'll get one if it works for you."

"Doubt you could get yours to work at the Manor, though."

This made Erin crack up with laughter, the thought of anything that modern and Muggle being in such an ancient and magical home was a bizarre thing to picture. Rose laughed along with her. It was nights like these that she'd been looking forward to when she and Erin had first discussed moving in together after school. Especially after being in separate dorms their last year. It had seriously cut down on the amount of time they had to simply chat at the end of the day and laugh over the ridiculous things that had happened. Even the not so ridiculous moments as well.

And they'd cry too. Like when Carter Brighton had caused the closest thing to heartbreak either had experienced to happen to Erin. Or when Erin had been told by her dad that things weren't looking well as far as her great gran's health was concerned. Or when Rose had failed a Charms exam because it was on the day she'd first acknowledged to herself the fact that she might actually like Scorpius, though Erin hadn't known that part at the time. Rose actually classified that as one of the ridiculous times as well.

But look how that had worked out. He was her boyfriend now. And she cared for him much more than she had then. Fifteen-year-old her wouldn't have believed that was possible. Now there were a million different ways that he could reduce her to tears, not that she expected him to. But the potential was there like it never really had been before, and it was equally terrifying and exhilarating. She'd truly let him in, and he'd let her in too. Remembering the look on his face when he'd asked her what she thought of his godfather was enough to make her see that. He'd been so vulnerable in that moment, wanting to know exactly what she thought.

And she hadn't been entirely honest with him. For the first time in quite a while.

"Erin?" she asked, rather abruptly coming down from her laughter as Erin continued to control hers.

"Yeah?"

"What did you think of Scorp's godfather?"

"Theo?" Erin asked, the question coming out with slight surprise. "He seemed brilliant. Obviously loves Scorpius. And he and Al both think he's smashing. Why?"

Rose sighed and sat up, running her hands through her bushy hair. "I don't know. I can't quite put my finger on it. Something just seemed a bit off about him."

"How?" asked Erin, sitting up next to her, all the humor of the previous moment gone as she looked at Rose with concern.

"I don't know," Rose said again. "That's what's so frustrating. There was something about the way he looked at me, I guess."

Erin's eyes widened in alarm. "You mean he…?" She looked Rose up and down suggestively.

"No!" Rose was quick to say, almost laughing at the obvious relief that overcame Erin. "No, nothing that creepy. Just… like he didn't approve of me."

"Rose, you know he was joking, right?" Erin said placatingly, remembering the comment Theo had made.

"I suppose," she said with a shrug. "Just didn't quite feel like it at first."

Erin reached out and rested her hand on Rose's shin, squeezing her leg reassuringly for a moment. "Rose, anyone would be crazy not to love you. And as much as I adore Scorpius, you're definitely out of his league, and he knows it."

Rose chuckled but shook her head. "Sometimes I feel like he's out of mine."

Erin smirked. "I think that's what they call love, sweetie."

Rose laughed and gave her friend a playful nudge. She'd yet to admit out loud that she was in love with her boyfriend, and she wasn't about to start right now.

"And I would know," Erin said through her own laughter. "I'd _have_ to be in love with Al to ever consider him out of my league."

They fell apart with laughter once again, the serious moment of their conversation forgotten as Erin went on to gush dramatically about all the ridiculous things she loved about Rose's cousin.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, it's been a while. I like to keep quite a few chapters ahead of what I've published, so that's why it's taken me so long to update since I haven't been writing a lot lately. Starting to get some of the juices flowing a bit though so we'll see if I get myself into gear. **

**Starting to set the scene for some future plot points, and I hope you're enjoying spending time with these lovely characters (I mean, I think they're lovely). **

**If you enjoyed, pleas review! Always love hearing from you.**


	10. Slow change may pull us apart

As he collapsed on the sparring mat, Albus couldn't remember another time when he'd ever been so exhausted. The closest thing to compare it to would probably be the first week of Quidditch training back in his third year at Hogwarts when he'd first made the team. But that still felt like nothing compared to his first full week of Auror training.

"Not bad, Potter," a smirking Auror Ferguson said from above. She was looking down at him with her arms crossed as he tried to catch his breath. "But maybe next time, remember that you need to actually move your feet as well as the rest of you, yeah?"

Albus gave a grunt in acknowledgement before Ferguson walked off, most likely to give similar advice to other trainees. He closed his eyes and rested his arms on the mat above his head, breathing deeply and assessing whether his best friend had truly injured him or not.

"Sorry," he heard Scorpius pant. "Didn't actually realize what I was doing until after the fact."

Al let out a disbelieving snort as he opened his eyes to look over and see his best friend standing with his hands on his knees as he breathed deeply. "Mate, you can't seriously mean to tell me that you literally swiped my feet out from under me accidently?"

Scorpius let out a chuckle as he stood up straight, linked his fingers together, and rested his hands on the top of his head. "Instinct, mate. Wouldn't kill you to listen to yours once in a while."

"I listen to mine plenty," Al argued back as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "Hurting my friend just isn't something that comes naturally to me, unlike some people."

Scorpius rolled his eyes as he rested his hands on his hips. "I suppose I'm just better at compartmentalizing than you."

Al glared and stretched a hand up towards his friend. "Quit being an arse and help me up."

Scorpius chuckled but moved forward to help his friend, who groaned as he stood on his feet. He glared at Scorpius once again when he laughed. "How are you not nearly as sore as I am?"

"You realize Chasers take more of a physical beating than Seekers do, right?" Scorpius pointed out as they began making their way out of the training center. "And I'm constantly throwing and catching the Quaffle. I'm a little more used to this type of physical activity."

Al scowled as he walked stiffly alongside his friend. "Hadn't really thought of that, actually."

"You'll catch up in no time," Scorpius said with a shrug, his tone confident. "The first few weeks will be the toughest. And you saw how tough it was for me to do some of those reflex exercises. You were brilliant at those. We all have our strengths and weaknesses."

Al chuckled as they entered the hallway and made their way towards the locker room. "Thanks for the pep talk, sunshine."

Scorpius grinned. "It's what I'm here for, princess."

He laughed and jogged ahead to miss the rather lazy punch that Al threw at him, his tired muscles prohibiting him from doing much more. It wasn't until after they'd showered and changed that Al was feeling slightly better, though he knew he'd be stiff in the morning.

"Feeling the first week, boys?" Logan Gable asked as he barged into the locker room while Al and Scorpius were packing up the last of their things. He was easily the most intimidating looking trainee, with bulging muscles and height to match, and was a rather stark contrast to Ethan, who happened to be his roommate.

"Just a bit," Scorpius said pleasantly, probably just as keen as Al to encourage a conversation with the second year. So not at all.

"Well, at least you get your first Saturday off," he said with a shrug. "Gives you a chance to relax your still wimpy little muscles."

"Lay off, Logan," said Mason as he followed Gable into the locker room. "Or need I remind you that you barely passed stealth last year?"

Logan glared at Mason but kept quiet as Al and Scorpius threw their bags over their shoulders and left the room, both wishing Mason a good weekend.

Logan had been the only trainee that Scorpius or Al hadn't immediately hit it off with. He was a bit arrogant and careless and didn't seem to really mesh well with anyone other than Wilder, who was a third year along with Cora, Isaac, and Mason. And the only reason they even got along at all was because Wilder could actually match Logan physically, so he sort of had to respect him.

Everyone else had given them very warm welcomes. They'd met Logan and Wilder when they'd done their physical evaluations their first day, and they'd already met everyone else at lunch. Al had always known that the amount of witches and wizards accepted into the Auror program was small, but it wasn't until he saw that there really were only ten of them spread across three years that it hit home how true that was.

And they were pretty close knit, for the most part. Even Logan in some ways. A lot had gone down towards the end of the previous year that had really bonded them, but Al and Scorpius and Eden had yet to really be filled in on what had happened, except that it had involved Zoey and Ethan doing some unprecedented field work that hadn't gone as planned.

It hadn't stopped them from welcoming the three newcomers with open arms and excitement, though. While there was some competition involved in training as they were often pitted against each other, there was an even greater sense of camaraderie and teamwork. You cheered each other on more than you took each other down.

"You planning on just crashing tonight?" Scorpius asked through a yawn as they made their way down the hall.

"Probably," Al said as he rubbed at his tired eyes. "I'm so bloody tired I can barely-"

"Rose?"

Al looked up at his friend in confusion as they walked into the central foyer, but Scorpius was staring at the reception desk with a surprised expression. Following Scorpius' gaze, Al's eyes widened as well upon seeing two very familiar witches chatting with Betty.

"Did you know they were coming?" Al asked Scorpius, who hadn't said Rose's name loud enough for her to hear him. Scorpius shook his head as they began to slowly walk towards their girlfriends, who only turned and saw them after Betty had noticed them first.

Al had been so busy all week that he hadn't had much time to actively miss Erin's presence, and it wasn't until he made eye contact with her that he realized how much he actually had. They hadn't seen each other all week, so no amount of exhaustion was going to keep him from being absolutely thrilled to see his girlfriend.

She was leaning against the counter and smiling at him as he approached her, and he could see it in her eyes and her antsy demeanor that she'd missed him too. He dropped his bag as he grew closer, and then his sore arms were filled with her as he scooped her up and buried his face in her neck, breathing in the familiar sweet scent of her wavy blonde hair.

"Hi," she whispered in his ear as she wound her arms around his neck, one of her hands running through his still shower damp hair.

"Hi," he mumbled into her shoulder. He dropped a kiss there before setting her back on her feet, not having realized he'd actually had the energy to lift her off of them. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled up at him. "Aren't I allowed to come visit you?"

"Absolutely," he assured her immediately. "And I've missed you, so I'm definitely not complaining."

Erin's smile brightened. "Betty was just telling us that you can request to have phones put in your rooms, and Rose and I are thinking of getting one for the flat. That way we can actually talk to each other throughout the week without having to send owls or awkwardly sit on our knees in front of the Floo."

"Sounds brilliant," Al said with a smile, before dropping a light kiss on her lips.

"Also," she continued as soon as he pulled away, "Rose and I have decided that Friday night is date night, at least once a month, just so we make sure we actually get to see the two of you."

Al rolled his eyes. "You don't have to set aside a day to make sure that happens."

"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "But better safe than sorry. We're likely to get pretty busy, and I know there will be times where we go longer than a week without any real time together, so I'm just doing my part to get as much of you as I can."

Al grinned at her determined attitude, feeling incredibly lucky that spending time with him actually meant enough to Erin Longbottom that she would do everything she could to make sure it happened. He was never going to complain about that.

"All right," he said, still grinning brightly at her. "Date night it is. What did the two of you have in mind?"

"Actually," Erin said with a slightly mischievous grin, bringing her hands down to stroke his t-shirt clad chest, "we're each doing our own thing tonight."

Al's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he looked in the direction that he assumed Rose and Scorpius to be in, only to find that they were nowhere to be seen.

"We figured it would be nice to do a little first week in the real word celebrating," Erin explained as he looked back at her. "And as fun as it would be to do it all together, I was feeling a little selfish in regards to your free time, and Rose felt the same about Scorp, so we made the decision to divide and conquer tonight."

Al grinned and pulled her closer, his arms still wrapped around her waist. "And what exactly are you planning on conquering, Miss Longbottom?"

Erin giggled, but merely placed a few kisses on his lips in quick succession before pulling herself away. "First, food. Then we'll talk about all this conquering stuff."

Al chuckled and shook his head as he linked his fingers through hers, telling Betty he'd be back late as they made to head towards the outer foyer and the elevator.

"Actually, I have a message for you," Betty said before they could leave. Al and Erin shared a questioning look as they walked back over to the desk while Betty shuffled around the different memos in front of her. "Ah, yes," she eventually said. "The Head of MLE would like to see you as soon as you're done with training for the day."

Al's brow furrowed in confusion. "All right. He still in his office?"

Betty shrugged. "You'll have to ask Eric."

"Right," Al said with a nod. "Thanks, Betty."

They continued their journey towards the outer office, stopping at the front desk where they were greeted by a smiling Eric.

"My dad still here?" Al asked. It felt a bit weird to assume that people knew who his dad was, but Eric had been working for the department for a few years now and had met Al before, so it didn't feel as strange with him.

"Yep," said Eric. "And I think your uncle is still here too."

Al nodded, not even needing to ask which uncle he was talking about as he walked through the door to the Auror department, Erin's hand still clasped in his.

"Do you know what he wants?" Erin asked as they made their way through the cubicles.

"No," said Al. "Probably just wants to know how my first week went. Shouldn't take long. Especially once I tell him I've got plans with you."

"But he's your dad," Erin reasoned. "And you're following in his footsteps. He's probably thrilled. Don't cut anything short on my account."

Al smiled down at her as they made it to the section of the department that had the offices for the higher ups in Magical Law. "You're brilliant, you know that? But I'm famished and exhausted so please let me use you as an excuse to get out of here quickly."

Erin smiled a bit sheepishly at him and didn't argue as he knocked on his father's office door, opening it at the hollered response to come in a moment later. He wasn't surprised to see his uncle Ron sitting in one of the chairs across from his dad's desk, and his dad sitting behind said desk. What he was surprised by was the rather serious expressions they wore. His momentary worries disappeared a second later when his dad grinned and stood.

"How was your first week?" he asked as he came around his desk, stopping in surprise when Al led Erin into the room.

"Exhausting," Al said with a smile, "but brilliant. We were about to go out and do a little post first week celebrating."

Harry smiled at Erin and Al. "Sounds great. Your mum and I did the same after my first week."

Al was surprised to find his dad smirking at him, and he couldn't help glancing at Erin, who'd gone bright red. Thankfully, Ron tactfully cleared his throat and gave Harry a look.

"Sorry," Harry said, though his shrug and slight smile showed he wasn't really. "That was mostly for Ron's benefit. He's still weirded out by the fact that I kiss his sister"

Al laughed, still feeling slightly uncomfortable, but the awkwardness leaving the room as Ron called his best friend a prat.

"Anyway," Harry said, his chuckle dying down as he leaned against his desk and crossed his arms. "I hope they're working you hard."

"Hard enough," Al said with a smile. "I'm bloody tired, so we're-"

"Actually," Harry interrupted, "there's something we wanted to talk to you about."

Al looked between his dad and his uncle in question, both of their expressions serious once again. And they were both shooting glances at Erin.

Taking the hint, Al turned to Erin apologetically.

"I'll just wait outside," she said before he could even open his mouth, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before quickly excusing herself.

"All right," said Al as soon as the door was closed, dropping his bag and collapsing into the chair next to Ron. "What's so important that you had to go through official channels to get me to come see you?"

Harry let out a heavy sigh, removing his glasses so he could rub at his eyes. "First of all," he said as he put his glasses back on, "just know that the only reason we're bringing this up is because we care about you, and we care about Scorpius."

Al's eyes widened in surprise. He glanced between his uncle and his father. "What's going on?"

"Al," said Ron, his tone a uniquely serious one that Al had rarely heard his uncle use, "how well do you know Theodore Nott?"

Al's jaw dropped in shock. "What?" he finally managed to get out. "Scorp's godfather?"

They both nodded solemnly.

"Not that well," Al said uncertainly. "I've only met him twice."

"When?" Harry asked sharply.

"Once when I was thirteen and then again a few weeks ago," Al responded promptly. "What the hell is going on?"

Harry sighed once again and moved around to sit behind his desk. "It's a bit complicated."

"Then explain."

"We can't tell you everything," his dad said.

"Well then why bring me into this at all?" Al asked. "What's this about?"

They were both silent for a moment, communicating with each other through looks and shrugs, before Ron took a deep breath and looked at his nephew.

"How much do you know about the war? The Death Eaters in particular?"

Al felt his blood run cold at the question. If this line of questioning somehow involved Theo, it didn't mean anything good.

"I know that a lot of my mates' parents had parents that were pretty heavily involved in all that," he admitted. "Sort of comes with the Slytherin territory."

"What about Nott Sr.?" Harry asked. "Ever heard much about him?"

Al shrugged. "Scorp mentioned that he was pretty bad as far as Death Eaters went. Why?"

They remained silent once again, and Al ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, there's a very lovely young witch sitting outside that I have every intention of celebrating with tonight, which you know all about as you so wonderfully pointed out," he said with a glare at his father. "Can you please just come out with whatever the hell it is you're trying to say?"

Harry gave Al an apologetic grimace, but it was Ron who spoke up.

"Nott Sr. had a pretty notorious business that he got away with for a long time, and about four years ago, your dad got a lead that some of the still at large Death Eaters he'd worked closely with and we'd failed to bring in almost a decade before were working in the country again. They were involved in some really shady stuff the first few years following the war, and it all started happening again."

"What sort of stuff?" Al asked.

"Illegal trade, mostly," said his dad. "Various types of goods ranging from magical plants to creatures and all types of things in between. The worst of it was the black market potions and slave trades."

Al gave a nervous gulp. He knew stuff like that happened, but it was another thing to have it discussed in the way they were now. Like it was relevant.

"Before today, I wouldn't have told you that much," said Harry. "But you're training to be an Auror now. This is real life stuff, Al, and you're going to have to deal with it on a regular basis."

Knowing his father expected some kind of response, Al nodded, mostly just wanting the conversation to be over, but also needing to know where it was heading.

"Things had died down a bit after we brought in Nott Sr., but that was only a few years after the war," Ron continued. "There would be random reports that seemed like it was starting up again, but it wouldn't be consistent enough to discern a pattern. It took a while for us to connect it to his son. We'd been sort of keeping tabs on him after the war, but then he started traveling for long periods of time. When he was in town for Christmas your third year and things really picked up, we made the connection."

Dread filled Al as he looked at his father for confirmation, disappointed to see him looking resigned.

"He got off on a technicality," Harry explained. "We didn't technically have any proof that wasn't circumstantial. He's very good at covering his tracks. And his father had done enough groundwork that Theo barely had to get his hands dirty. I'm pretty sure he's never signed a single thing or had to do any type of incriminating magic. He left the country after that and hasn't been seen since. Until now."

"And you're worried he's still involved in all this?" asked Al, working hard to wrap his head around everything.

"Exactly," said Harry. "I made sure we had people tracking him as soon as Hermione told us he was back in town."

Al nodded. "How'd she know he was back?" he asked his uncle.

"Rose mentioned it to her," he said. "Hermione didn't waste any time before telling us as soon as she heard. She saw first hand the kind of damage the shady business he's involved in can cause."

Al knew there was more to that story, but didn't press it. He'd already heard more than he'd been prepared to tonight.

"Why exactly are you telling me all this?" he asked. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Nothing," Harry assured him. "I just want you to keep your eyes open and be wary. We don't trust him, and I'm sure Scorpius has no clue about his history. Draco knows we suspected Nott, but I don't think he believes he's involved. Just watch your back and watch Scorp's back, and let us know if you see or hear anything suspicious."

Al looked at his dad in disbelief. "That doesn't sound like nothing."

"And don't say anything to Scorpius."

"Dad, come on," Al said imploringly. "You can't ask me-"

"As the head of your department who just told you classified information," his dad cut him off firmly, "I can ask you to do exactly that."

Al took a deep breath to calm himself, worried this wouldn't be the last time his dad put him in this position. He gave a curt nod, not trusting himself to say anything else.

"Just don't do anything stupid," said Harry. "Don't say anything to Scorpius, don't confront Nott, and don't go snooping. Just keep your eyes open."

With his dad looking at him imploringly, Al found he could do nothing but nod once again, feeling uneasy about the whole thing, and hoping probably fruitlessly that it was all a big misunderstanding and that Scorpius' godfather - who was finally back in his life - was actually the descent wizard that Scorpius believed him to be.

* * *

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Erin was still asking over an hour later. She really didn't want to pressure Al to open up if he didn't want to, but he'd been in a funk ever since they'd left his dad's office. He hadn't cared where they grabbed food, hadn't cared what they did after. He was completely absorbed in whatever had happened behind that office door. And Erin was having a very difficult time not being frustrated with the savior of the wizarding world.

"I'm sure," he assured her once again. "And even if I wanted to, I can't. Classified and all that."

Erin nodded in understanding, letting silence fall between them as they slowly meandered down the streets of London.

"Want to take the bike out?" she asked. "It's the perfect night for it."

Al sighed and shook his head, but gave Erin a grateful smile as he squeezed her hand. "I'm a little too tired for that. Any chance we could just go crash at yours for a while?"

Erin nodded, letting go of his hand so she could wrap her arm around his waist. "Rose said she and Scorpius were going to head over to her parents after dinner. We should have it all to ourselves."

Al snorted in amusement as he let his arm drape across her shoulders. "And I was just about to apologize for being so boring."

"I think it's sweet," said Erin, turning the corner that would lead towards her flat. "She's all about making sure they both get along with each other's families as much as possible. We don't really have to worry about that, thankfully."

She smiled up at him, but Al merely gave a hum in response, his expression severe and contemplative once again. Erin sighed, choosing to ignore it as they approached her building.

When he immediately collapsed onto the cushion covered floor, she rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen. It wasn't his fault that he was exhausted _or _that his dad had distracted him. But it didn't make handling her disappointment that their evening hadn't gone the way she'd wanted any easier.

"Want something to drink?" she hollered out to him, hoping she was keeping the annoyance out of her voice. She heard him respond, but couldn't make out the words. With a resigned sigh, she moved to stand in the doorway to the kitchen.

"What?" she asked, her hands resting on the doorframe. Al was lying on his back with his eyes closed, and he stretched an arm out to clumsily pat the cushions beside him.

"I said I want _you, _woman," he grumbled out. "Get your sexy arse over here."

Erin's annoyance melted away as she slowly strolled towards her boyfriend, willing the color that had risen to her cheeks to die down. It took a lot to throw her off balance, but Albus Potter was somehow always able to surprise her. And comments that showed how much he appreciated her - in an assortment of ways - was something she was still getting used to.

Smiling mischievously down at her half awake boyfriend, Erin plopped down next to him, startling him a little and causing his head to pop off the pillow and his eyes to fly open.

"And here I was thinking you were too preoccupied to notice how good I look in these jeans," she said cheekily. Al chuckled as he snuggled in close to her, his arm going around her waist.

"I could be unconscious and still be fully aware of your presence, love."

Erin chuckled as she lay down next to her boyfriend and curled into his side. She rested her hand on his chest, her fingers softly brushing across his t-shirt.

"Sorry I'm so out of it," he said, turning his head to give her a truly apologetic look.

"It's not your fault," she said in understanding. "And it's not like I gave you any warning. Not that you could've been better prepared if I had."

"True," he said with a sigh, his eyes falling shut as he pulled her close enough to rest their foreheads together. "How was your day?"

With a grin, Erin began to fill him in on the last twenty-four hours. While they hadn't actually seen each other all week, they'd been able to talk through the Floo network almost every night. And the nights they didn't do that, owls were exchanged.

"Draco had to get on Kiran's case a bit again today for distracting me," she said. "I felt kind of bad, though, because I actually find his work really interesting so I let myself get distracted."

Al let out a hum in interest as he slowly opened one eye. "How interesting is this bloke, exactly?"

Erin gave her boyfriend a pointed look. "Interesting enough that he'd rather go out with you than me."

"Ah," said Al, a lazy smile of satisfaction gracing his face. Erin rolled her eyes.

"You do know that even if he was interested in snogging me in the storage room, you'd have nothing to worry about, right?"

Opening his eyes fully, Al looked at her with an expression more tender than she'd been anticipating. "Yeah," he said, sighing in contentment. And then his hand was resting on her cheek as he leaned in closer. "I love you."

His lips caressed hers softly, almost in reverence. It made Erin slightly short of breath, even though it only lasted about ten seconds. There was something about the moment that held weight. In some ways, his kiss spoke louder than any words he could have uttered. And there was a part of Erin that was terrified by what she heard through his kiss. And she heard it even louder in his next two words.

"So much."

For weeks, maybe even months now, Erin had been in denial about just how strong she suspected Albus Potter's feelings for her were. Comments thrown around comparing them to his parents or her parents had been brushed off with a chuckle or a roll of the eyes. But the more he failed to deny the possibility of their relationship turning into one that mirrored his parents or even her parents, the more it was easy to see just how in this he was.

And it wasn't that there was anything wrong with that. And it wasn't that Erin didn't love him too. Because she did. So much. But how could he be so confident in something when they were still so young? How could he be so confident in something that had been so turbulent for months? Because there were times where she had trouble trusting that there wouldn't come a day when it would all blow up in their faces. Because that had happened more times than she cared to count.

Part of her wanted to voice her fears and even felt like she could. She might not necessarily trust what they had to a fault, but she did trust Al. However, it'd been a long week of not seeing him. Of not been together. And if there was a chance that anything she said on the subject could ruin that, she wasn't about to take it.

So she kissed him, and tried to say the things back that she knew he wanted to hear, but she wasn't sure she was quite ready to say, whether it was out loud or not.

* * *

**A/N: I'm SO sorry. It's been forever. But I'm finally inspired to write again and have a few chapters queued up! It's a busy time of year, though, so we will see if I can get back into the swing of things yet.**

**Thoughts about the Theo stuff? Any of it ringing any bells as far as other things that have happened throughout these stories? I'd love to hear all your theories or thoughts or questions about that or anything else! Your comments are very appreciated.**


	11. I fear rivers overflowing

When it came to her boyfriend spending time with her family, Rose wasn't nervous. They all got along well, and all anyone wanted for everyone else was for them to be happy, healthy, and safe. And everyone was, for the most part. Rose could tell her mother was stressed about work, which in turn agitated her father. And she wasn't about to dive into Hugo's mess of a social life right now. But nothing was incredibly out of the ordinary, no one was making poor choices, and things were going well. Things were fine.

So, if that was the case, why had things felt incredibly not fine?

"I'm so sorry," Rose found herself saying for what felt like the tenth time. "Tonight was supposed to be about celebrating and they ruined it."

"Rose, it was fine," Scorpius reassured her for at least the tenth time as well. "People have off nights and things don't always go perfectly. Nothing detrimental happened. It was just one of those nights."

Rose sighed in resignation. If the way he was only loosely holding her hand as they walked up the stairs towards her front door was any indication, it wasn't fine. But he was both too stubborn and too kind to admit it.

"Still," she insisted, "I fully intend to talk to my dad about how he behaved."

"He didn't behave in any way," Scorpius insisted, nearly cutting her off in his haste to disagree with her. "He was just-"

"Behaving very rudely?" Rose countered as they reached her front door. "I just really want us all to be able to get along, all right? Is that too much to ask?"

Scorpius let out a groan and ran his free hand through his hair. With a barely restrained sigh, Rose dropped his hand so she could dig through her bag for her keys, neither saying another word as she opened the door. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak as he closed the door behind them, but refrained from uttering a word at the sight that met them.

Al and Erin were curled up together on the immense amount of cushions covering the floor, both of them completely passed out. It was actually quite adorable, in Rose's opinion, and some of the tension between her and Scorpius fell away as she offered him an apologetic yet indulgent smile. He looked amused as well, but shook his head and moved closer so he could whisper to her in an undertone, "At least they're both fully clothed."

Rose shushed him and held back a giggle before signaling for him to follow her down the hall. They stayed as quiet as possible until the door to her bedroom was shut and a few privacy charms were in place.

With a deep sigh. Rose sat on her bed and kicked off her shoes as Scorpius leaned against her dresser, his arms crossed as he faced her.

"I think you're putting too much pressure on this," said Scorpius, his gaze almost imploring as he looked at her.

"On what?" Rose asked, slightly nervous. "On our relationship?"

"No," Scorpius said a bit impatiently. "On the part our families play in it. We all get along fine, Rose."

With the exception of the tension present tonight, she had to concede that he was right. "Well, you've been saying how much you want me to get to know Theo," she countered.

"That's different," said Scorpius. "I've known your family for years and you've only met Theo once. It's not about knowing him better, it's about knowing him at all."

She fell silent, unable to argue and wishing she hadn't brought up his godfather. She still couldn't put her finger on why, but the whole thing still made her uneasy.

"Rose, we've only been together a few months," said Scorpius. "We don't need to rush things. It's not like they're that serious yet anyway."

Rose did her best to make sure the sting of his words didn't show on her face. She knew he was right, in a sense. Things between them were new, even though they'd had a close relationship for a while. They'd even cared about each other in a deeper sense than friendship for a while too. But she was probably getting ahead of herself in thinking their families had to get along. When it came down to it, she knew they would. If she were ever to actually become a Malfoy, her father would refrain from asking probing questions of Scorpius. Especially ones about his family history.

She didn't know what had inspired her father to do so tonight. After grabbing dinner together first, she and Scorpius had gone to her parent's house. When she'd called ahead to let her mother know that they wouldn't be joining for dinner as originally planned but would be coming later, she'd been fine with it. It felt like a bit of a stretch to think their not coming for dinner was the reason for her father's behavior and her mother's tense demeanor, but nothing else made sense. Nothing even came to mind to explain it.

Unless it had nothing to do with her and Scorpius at all, and it truly had just been a bad night. In which case this whole conversation was unnecessary, but she'd forced them to have it anyway.

"You're right," she said with a dismissive wave, feeling a bit embarrassed now as she averted her gaze from his. "I'm being silly."

Rose glanced around her room to distract herself, trying to think of ways she could decorate the still sparse space, but she heard Scorpius sigh and move towards her. She only looked at him after he sat next to her on the bed.

"It's not silly," he assured her, backtracking a moment later when Rose gave him a skeptical look. "All right, maybe I think it's a little silly, but I didn't mean to make _you _feel silly for being concerned about all that."

He reached out and slipped his hand into hers, and Rose gave him a small smile.

"Thank you," she said. "But you're right. It's not a big deal. Things are fine how they are and I don't need to add any unneeded pressure."

With a small smile, Scorpius lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "I think things are pretty great."

Rose's smile widened, a sense of peace finally returning to her. "They are, aren't they? Seems sort of silly now that we were both so worried we'd ruin things by actually being together."

Scorpius gave a quiet laugh of amusement. "Sort of does. Blimey, I have a hard time remembering what it was like before we were together."

"I don't," Rose said with a chuckle. "It was miserable."

As a grin lit up his features, Scorpius dropped her hand and moved closer so he could gently hold her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. "Sorry about that. Probably my fault."

"It was," Rose said with a pointed look. "I would've snogged you senseless when I was sixteen."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You know you could have."

"Do you really want to argue about this?" Rose said with an amused smile. "Because you can say it was up to me just as much as it was up to you all you want, but you're the one who made sure we hit the brakes. A few times."

Scorpius gave an annoyed huff, before a look of determination took over his face. "Fine, but hell if I make the same mistake again."

And then he was pulling her face to his and kissing her soundly, taking Rose off guard. But she wasn't complaining in the least.

It had been a very long week of not seeing each other.

With a sigh of contentment, Rose sunk into the kiss, her hand resting on his leg and gripping his thigh. This served to heighten Scorpius' sense of urgency, and he moved impossibly closer, one hand diving into her hair and the other landing on the bed next to her hip so he was practically hovering over her.

Losing her balance due to his proximity and the way his mouth was moving hungrily against hers, Rose began to fall back on the bed, but stuck her hands out behind her to catch herself at the last second. Her heart was pounding at a rapid pace, and Scorpius didn't appear to have any ideas about slowing down. He was still kissing her as fiercely as ever, his tongue stroking hers in a way that left her powerless, and Rose gave into the temptation to let him take control.

She lowered herself onto her elbows, Scorpius following and giving a slight moan of appreciation when his chest collided with hers. There was nothing Rose could do to stop herself from lying fully on the bed, her boyfriend practically on top of her as he snogged her senseless.

She finally got a moment to breathe when he pulled away to trail quick, sloppy kisses down her neck. It took a moment for Rose to realize that wasn't all he was doing, but then the situation she now found herself in hit her like a train.

With a sharp intake of breath, she quickly sat up, just as Scorpius had managed to straddle her as she lay on the bed. Her movement was accompanied by the sound of a painful crack and an outburst of pain from Scorpius as her head collided with his.

"Bloody hell, Rose," Scorpius groaned through his hands, which were carefully holding his nose as he knelt over her.

"I'm so sorry!" Rose cried, scooting away from him so she could go up on her knees and examine his face, all while holding her now throbbing head.

"How bad is it?" he asked with a groan, moving his hands so she could take a proper look. It was a bit red and potentially bruised, but at least there was no blood.

"Not very," she assured him in a shaky voice. "You'll probably want some bruise paste later, but maybe some ice now?"

Scorpius nodded and got off the bed, Rose following quickly and leading him quietly into the kitchen.

"I'm really sorry," she apologized once again, whispering as she opened the door to their freezer. Rose's appreciation for her mother grew at that moment when she spotted the bag of frozen peas on the door. "Mum always keeps one of these around," she explained as she grabbed it as well as a dry dish rag to wrap around it. "Glad I picked up the habit."

She directed a skeptical looking Scorpius to sit at the kitchen table, and she smiled when he sat in the chair that he'd personally picked out when they'd bought the eclectic set. He placed the bag of frozen vegetables against his face, which continued to look skeptical up until the cold made him cringe, and then relaxed as it began to soothe his slightly swollen nose.

"How's your head?" he asked, his voice sounding as if he had a cold.

"Not too bad," Rose said with a shrug. Scorpius gave her as much of a pointed look as he could given his current position. Rose rolled her eyes and sighed in defeat. "All right, I'll take a pain potion."

By the time she'd come back to the kitchen with a much more pain free head, Scorpius had propped his feet up on another chair and was leaning back in his with the frozen peas held against his face. Guilt welled up in Rose to see him looking so miserable, all because she'd had a moment of panic. She flipped on the light in the kitchen before moving towards him.

"Let me take a look," she said, moving to stand between him and the table. He slowly lowered his cold compress and looked up. Rose held his face gingerly in her hands, turning it from side to side to make sure everything was still in tact.

"Rose?" Scorpius said softly. Rose hummed in response as she opened the jar of bruise paste she'd brought with her. "What happened?"

Rose gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?" she asked as she dipped her fingers into the paste.

"I mean before. What happened to make you… do whatever you just did in there?"

Rose didn't answer right away, her lips pursed in concentration as she began to softly apply the paste to his nose. Scorpius gave a hiss of discomfort, but didn't protest otherwise.

What _had_ happened? One minute she was more than happy to be snogging her boyfriend, and then the next, she was in a very vulnerable position and not nearly prepared for it. For a few different reasons.

"I don't know," she eventually said, her voice soft as she continued to tend to his nose. "Just... with tonight being what it was, and you saying things aren't even that serious between us, but then what we were doing was turning _very _serious and…"

She trailed off, unable to finish out of embarrassment and guilt.

"You know I'd never push you, right?" asked Scorpius, his brow raised and his eyes searching hers. "I told you we'd talk about things before we ever…"

She gave him a slight, reassuring smile. "I know."

That was one thing she wasn't concerned about. Scorpius was anything but pushy. He had the uncanny and sometimes frustrating ability to think of others before himself and to never ask for much of anything. She'd known even before they were together that he'd never ask her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with or ready for, and there were certain things that still fell into those categories. Especially at this stage in the relationship. There were plenty of things to say before anything more serious happened.

Scorpius took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as Rose focused on the task of screwing the cap back on the paste.

"I love you."

For the second time that evening, Rose jerked her head up in shock. Her boyfriend was looking at her with uncertain eyes and his lower lip between his teeth, braced for her response to a statement she hadn't been expecting. Not now, when there was still bruise paste on her fingers and the swelling and redness had yet to go down from his nose. Which she'd injured after panicking about just how far their physical relationship could have gone without her stopping things.

And as unexpected and nontraditional as his timing was, it made Rose believe him all the more. Because it wasn't in the heat of the moment and it wasn't in an attempt to gain anything. It was an honest statement. And even though it was probably meant to help assuage her fears, he wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it.

But it also meant that things were a bit more serious than he'd claimed they were not ten minutes earlier, as far as she was concerned.

"Really?" she couldn't help asking, her voice small yet feeling like it echoed around the silent kitchen. Scorpius gave a silent chuckle before taking the jar of paste from her hand and setting it and the frozen peas on the table so he could lace his fingers between hers.

"I did tell you I was falling in love with you a few months ago, didn't I?" he asked, amusement in his voice despite the fact that his eyes still betrayed how nervous he was. "That leads to things like this a lot of the time. And you said the same thing, if I'm remembering correctly."

His bright eyes that looked more gray than blue at the moment were piercing her as he waited for her to say something. And for someone who'd been accused of putting too much pressure on a relationship that he'd deemed not that serious a few moments ago, she was having a difficult time responding in the way she wanted to.

"But…" she began uncertainly, feeling guilty when his smile started to waver, "you just said that things weren't even that serious between us. That sounds a bit serious to me."

Scorpius sighed and sat back in his chair, the distance forcing him to drop her hand. She propped them on the table behind her to help herself stay steady as he ran his hand through his hair.

"All right," he said slowly. "In terms of the future and where this is heading, I don't think we're ready to be serious, or even need to be. We have no bloody clue what's going to happen next week, let alone years from now, and we're only eighteen. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know that I love you, and I want to know that a future with you is possible, even though it's not guaranteed."

A lot of what he said made sense and even made Rose's heart swell with love for him, but it also frustrated her.

"What if I said I wanted to guarantee you that future?" she asked, her eyes meeting his hestantly and trying not to back down as they widened in surprise.

"What?" he asked in a choked voice. Rose took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Scorp, I really can't imagine not being with you," she said, sincerity coating her words. "I don't like thinking about the fact that we might not be together one day. And the fact that you seem fine with the possibility of that terrifies me. Because I'm very much in love with you and if you're not as committed to making this work as I am…"

He'd grown blurry as tears had started to gather in her eyes, but she knew she'd surprised him with the intensity of her words. With a frustrated sigh, she looked away, grabbing the rag that had been wrapped around the frozen peas to wipe the greasy paste from her fingers. She tossed it onto the table before wiping at her eyes.

Had she completely ruined things by laying her heart on the line so thoroughly?

She flinched in surprise when she felt his warm fingers touch her elbow. And then he was guiding her hand away from her face so he could grab it. Before she knew it, he'd pulled her to him and settled her sideways on his lap, his arms around her waist and her head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm very much committed to making this work, all right?" he whispered, his words brushing against her forehead. "I don't want to think about the possibility of things not working out, but a part of me can't help but plan for things going poorly. Because what if they do and then I'm not prepared for the heartbreak?"

Rose gave a huff of annoyance, but didn't pull away from him. "That's a silly way to live. Always worried things will go wrong and spoiling the perfectly good things in your life because you're afraid of that very thing happening."

Scorpius was silent for a few moments, and then she felt the soft pressure of his lips against her forehead as his arms tightened around her. "You're right," he murmured. "I'm sorry."

With a sigh, she sat up so she could look him in the eye, having to bite her lip to keep from smiling in amusement. She'd forgotten for a moment about his nose.

"What?" he asked, noting her near grin.

"I really am sorry about your nose," she said, reaching up to stroke his cheek. He smiled at her.

"It's already feeling better," he assured her. "Thanks for taking care of me."

Rose smiled, her mind going back to months ago when she'd imagined taking care of Scorpius after an Auror related injury. This hadn't exactly been the moment she pictured. And she definitely hadn't imagined being the one to cause the injury.

"It's the least I could do," she said, before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on his lips, careful not to cause him any more pain.

"Are we okay?" he asked after she'd pulled away, his eyes seeking reassurance as they searched hers. Rose held his face in her hands and gave him one more quick kiss before dismissing his fears.

Because things did seem okay, even if she couldn't recall if they'd actually come to some type of conclusion. She knew she didn't feel as insecure about things as she had before. Especially now that she knew without a doubt how he felt about her.

"Oi!" an annoyed voice sounded from behind her, and they both turned to see Al and Erin standing in the doorway to the kitchen, both looking very groggy. Al even had lines on his face from sleep, and both had rather disheveled hair.

"What?" Scorpius asked innocently.

"Can whatever's happening happen somewhere else?" Al asked. "Or at least without the lights on?"

Rose felt Scorpius chuckling, but he did a good job of not doing it out loud.

"Sorry," she said before standing from Scorpius' lap. "We didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Erin said through a yawn. "My neck was getting stiff anyway."

Scorpius checked his watch as he stood. "It's getting late," he said. "We should probably head back."

Al gave a combination of a groan and a yawn, rubbing at his eyes as he rested his weight against the doorway and Erin, who was standing in front of him and looking quizzically at Scorpius.

"What the hell happened to your nose?" she asked.

"Long story," said Scorpius as Al began to scrutinize him as well. "I'll be fine by the morning. Can you give us a mo'?"

They heard no complaints from their friends, who were too tired to ask anymore questions as they moved out of the kitchen.

"What is it?" asked Rose, looking up at Scorpius in question as soon as they were alone again. He surprised her by swooping down to kiss her, his lips firm yet tender against hers as he kissed her with more conviction than she'd been comfortable using for fear of hurting him. He didn't appear to have any such qualms.

"I really love you," he said once he'd pulled away, both of them working to catch their breath a bit. "And I'm in this, all right? I want this, and I'm going to fight for it."

The last bit of fear and uncertainty left Rose, and she sighed in contentment before winding her arms around his neck and holding him close, whispering that she felt exactly the same.

* * *

_Hey Kid,_

_It's been great being able to catch up with you. Wish I'd been better at staying in touch over the years, but you seem to have grown up just fine without me. I want to do better, though, so you might actually hear from me every now and then._

_I know we had plans to see each other today, but business calls me away, unfortunately. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I'll try to let you know when I'm heading your way. I can't make any promises about when that will be, but I'll do my best to not make it such a long absence this time._

_I can already tell you're going to be a brilliant Auror, so stick with it! Remember all the wise things I've ever said and you'll do fine. I'm only somewhat joking. I do want you to think about what I said the last time we talked. Just be careful who you trust, and know that I always have your back._

_Till next time,_

_Uncle Theo_

Scorpius folded up the letter with a sigh, sticking it between the pages of his notebook once again. He'd probably read it a dozen times since his godfather had sent it two days ago. Theo was supposed to come visit him in the Auror housing on Saturday so he could see where his godson was living, and then he was going to take him and Al out for drinks to celebrate their first week. But this letter had shown up instead.

He'd expected too much from his godfather, and he'd wound up disappointed. Just like he'd feared he would be. This was why it was better to be prepared for the worst to happen. That way you wouldn't have to go through much heartache when things inevitably went awry.

The words Rose had said to him a few days ago rang in his ears. _That's a silly way to live. _Well it didn't seem so silly now. Not when he was once again disappointed.

"Mind if I join?"

Scorpius looked up, slightly startled to see a rather tired looking Ethan Longbottom standing in the doorway of the study room he was occupying.

"Not at all," said Scorpius, quickly recovering and clearing some of the files he'd pulled from the library to make room for Ethan at the table.

"What are you working on?" Ethan asked as he set his own books and files on the table.

"Regulations and Protocol homework," Scorpius said with a sigh. "I have to look through these old cases and study up on what qualifies as self-defense. Although some of these cases from the early eighties are a little questionable."

"Ah," said Ethan, an understanding smile on his face. "You'll find that to be the case when it comes to the first and second wars. R and P is a bit of a slog sometimes. And it's one of those things that, unfortunately, doesn't really go away."

Scorpius gave a snort of agreement. "That tends to be the case with unpleasant things."

Like people who abandon you. Not like he'd had that happen a lot, but still. He'd felt rejection often enough: from his housemates, his grandfather, and now his godfather. Eventually, he'd come to understand the first two. His fellow Slytherins just didn't understand him and didn't really have any sort of obligation to. His grandfather had chosen to follow his particular path before Scorpius had even been thought of, and while he'd only met Lucius Malfoy once after his release from Azkaban - weak and sickly and shortly before his death when Scorpius was only five - he'd felt the sting for a while that someone who was supposed to love him had chosen a path that hadn't enabled him to be there for his grandson.

His godfather, however, was more than capable of being in his life, but simply chose not to be. And the repetitive sting was beginning to cause a permanent ache.

"Everything all right?" Ethan asked after a few minutes of Scorpius' silent stewing. He relaxed his brow after realizing he'd been scowling down at his notebook, his pencil digging into the pages.

"Sure," he said, offering Ethan what probably looked more like a grimace than a smile.

There was a pause as Ethan seemed to be measuring him up, then he nodded and went back to his own studying.

"How do people do it?" Scorpius found himself blurting out before he could hold it in. "How do you continue to trust people knowing they'll probably ditch you or screw you over the first chance they get?"

Ethan looked at him with raised eyebrows, a confused yet contemplative expression on his face. "Well..." he began slowly, "I choose to believe that not _everyone _is looking for the first chance to disappoint me. It happens, obviously, but the amount of times that are intentional are far fewer than the amount of times that are, in my experience at least."

Scorpius sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing a hand over his tired face. "You're right," he grumbled. "I know you're right, but it doesn't feel like that a lot of the time."

To his surprise, Ethan gave a scoff. "Scorp, I don't think I've ever seen a group of people that are closer than you, Al, Rose, and my sister, and you're telling me that you're expecting them to disappoint you? Maybe you lot aren't as close as I thought."

All of this was said with an indifference that had Scorpius immediately going on the defensive, but he held his tongue, taken aback even more by the fact that such a tactic had been used on him by Ethan in particular. He'd always been the type of person you never thought could actually utter a cross word or insult someone, let alone manipulate them. Where his sister was brash and bold, Ethan was meek and even-tempered, someone who'd led as Head Boy with understanding and grace and the occasional tough love when necessary. But Ethan Longbottom had changed over the last year, both his interior and exterior toughening up with his training, and it made Scorpius wonder if Ethan would turn out to be one of the best Auror's the Ministry had seen since Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had taken the force by storm over twenty-five years ago.

But for now, he was just a friend offering some wisdom in a way Scorpius hadn't expected to receive it.

"All right, you make a good point," Scorpius said begrudgingly. "It's just been a tough week."

"I can understand that," said Ethan, and he set down his own pencil and reclined in his chair as well, giving Scorpius an open and expectant expression. With a sigh, Scorpius told him about his godfather's recent departure, and a bit of the historical precedent that showed he really shouldn't be that surprised by recent events.

"That's tough, mate," Ethan said sympathetically. "Have you told him how much his absence bothers you?"

Scorpius gave a disheartened shrug. "Wouldn't make a difference if I did. He'd just tell me that it couldn't be helped."

Ethan nodded, a contemplative look on his face as he sat forward, prepared to resume his studying. "Your call, mate," he said. "But you'll never know for sure unless you try."

Well, he was right, Scorpius had to concede. But it still didn't matter, because Theo was gone, and Scorpius wasn't about to pour out all of his hurt feelings in a letter. If he ever got the chance to tell his godfather that he'd prefer it if he were around more often, then he would. As things stood, it was pointless to dwell on what he could possibly do to make things better, because there really wasn't anything to be done.

After spending another hour trying and failing to retain anything he was reading, he left Ethan to his studies and headed back to his room, hoping Al was still getting in the extra training he'd been planning to do after dinner. Even though it was only half past eight, all Scorpius wanted was to curl up in bed and try not to think about the fact that he'd wanted to spend the next few weeks developing a relationship between his godfather and his girlfriend. He'd thrown out the idea of getting them to spend more time together to Rose not long after Theo had come to town, and he'd sensed hesitation on her end. He'd noticed it the few other time his godfather had been brought up as well, but he still couldn't figure out why she didn't seem very open to the idea. She'd assured him nothing was wrong and that she liked Theo as well as she could with how little she knew him, which had encouraged Scorpius' idea that he make sure she get to know him better.

Of course, that plan had been shot to hell, and while he felt bad for doing so, he'd made up an excuse about having too much studying to do to be able to spend time with her that night when she'd asked if he was free for dinner. It wasn't a total lie, seeing as he did have quite a lot on his plate, but he could have made it work.

Scorpius made it to his room without hardly noticing how he'd gotten there, his mind too distracted to fully be aware of his surroundings. With a sigh, he pulled his wand and tapped the doorknob before shouldering the door open, immediately dropping his bag full of study materials and dropping his wand as he let out a yawn. He kicked the door shut behind him and collapsed on the couch, rubbing at his eyes and appreciating the fact that the Academy provided very comfortable furniture. He'd actually fallen asleep on the couch a few times in the week and a half that he'd been a trainee.

As much as Scorpius really did look forward to being a fully trained Auror, the road to getting there was already rougher than he'd thought it was going to be. The physical and mental training was already beginning to take its toll. The second and third years said that it got easier in some ways, but he also knew it grew harder in others, to say nothing of the emotional toll it would take over the years. Zoe was already having weekly appointments with a Mind Healer, which had something to do with whatever incident had occurred that involved her and Ethan back in the spring. Ethan had mentioned he'd had a few appointments too, but Zoe had suffered more.

But Ethan only seemed stronger after whatever he'd been through. And Scorpius knew he was too. He could only hope that whatever lay ahead of him would grow him rather than break him.

His thoughts running in circles and his brain tired, Scorpius had nearly fallen asleep on the couch when a subtle noise coming from the direction of Al's room startled him awake. And it sounded an awful lot like someone was crying.

Confused, Scorpius stood from the couch and slowly made his way towards his friend's room. The door was shut, but there was light coming from under it, and he could also make out the soft murmuring of a voice accompanying what was most definitely feminine tears. Unsure what to do and if he should do anything at all, Scorpius stood there silently for a few moments, before deciding on knocking as lightly as possible, so that it could easily go ignored if necessary.

It wasn't long before the door slowly opened and Al stood in the entrance, weary and obviously distressed. "Now's not a great time, mate," he said softly, the words hardly able to be heard over the crying that had grown a bit louder as the door opened.

"What's going on?" Scorpius asked in an equally quiet voice. Al seemed to struggle internally for a second before letting out a sigh and glancing back into his room as he opened the door a smidge wider. With a small step forward, Scorpius was able to see past his friend and into the room, taking in the surprising image of Erin Longbottom, whose back was to him as she lay curled up on Al's bed, crying her eyes out.

"It's her gran," Al explained in a whisper. "It was a year ago today…"

Al didn't need to explain any more. A surge of grief on his friend's behalf swept through Scorpius, making everything he was dealing with seem significantly unimportant for the time being. No wonder Ethan had looked exhausted earlier. Scorpius was a little surprised Erin's brother was doing as well as he was, but then Scorpius probably would've poured himself into work or something else as equally distracting if it had been him as well.

"She was here waiting when I got back from training," Al continued to explain, "and I know we're not supposed to have overnight guests, but I don't think I'll be able to get her to leave or even want her to, you know? Not when she's this upset."

Al looked seriously torn, and Scorpius felt for him. He knew that if he were in Al's shoes, he'd feel exactly the same way. "They even gonna know if she doesn't leave?"

Al shrugged uncertainly. "Not sure. I suppose I could get her back to hers and stay there with her. If she needs me to."

Scorpius nodded as Erin let out a fresh wave of sobs. A look of pain crossed Al's face as he moved back towards his girlfriend as if he were magnetically pulled to her, no longer concerned with his roommate's presence. Scorpius watched as Al sunk down onto the mattress behind Erin, stroking her arm as he whispered soothingly into her ear. Erin seemed to relax a bit after taking a deep breath and reaching up to grip Al's hand. She pulled his arm around her, and Al seamlessly laid down on the bed, curling up behind her and holding her close. Even though her tears continued, it was staggering to see how much his presence brought her comfort. She immediately seemed more relaxed as her breathing grew easier and her sobs quieted down.

As he stepped back and closed the door, Scorpius couldn't help thinking of his own problems and how small they seemed in comparison. At least the people who loved him were still around, if not always present. Maybe he could work on being a little less bitter and a little more grateful for not only the times he'd had, but for the possibility of more in the future. Because not everyone got that.

* * *

**A/N: Finally getting back into a bit of a writing groove, but upcoming travel and holidays may put a dent in that. If you ask nicely, you might hear from me again before the new year! As always, your reviews give me life and keep me going.**


	12. You always look so inviting

**A/N: Second upload in two days! I posted a one-shot of Neville and Hannah called **_Brave _**so check that out! It's connected to these stories. Also, I know it's been a while, but I'm finally much more free and will actually have time to get more writing done. Just a refresher, the last chapter ended with Scorpius (who is struggling with the abrupt departure of his godfather) discovering a very distraught Erin being comforted by Al. **

**Warning that this chapter is a bit on the mature side, but hopefully tastefully done. Love hearing from you, so read and review as always!**

* * *

"Want to talk about it?" he finally asked, his words soft yet still somehow jarring as they broke the silence. She let out a sigh, her eyes closing as she continued to lie across from him.

Once Erin had calmed down enough to communicate, Al had managed to Floo her home. They'd passed a concerned looking Rose on their new couch as he led Erin back to her room, where she collapsed on her bed and broke down in sobs once again, gripping her quilt that Al knew had been handmade by her great gran. With a sigh, Al had kicked off his shoes before crawling on the bed, slipping her shoes off as well, and then lying down so that he was facing her. He spent an hour gently stroking her arm, kissing her forehead, and handing her tissues, patiently waiting to be whatever she would need him to be for her.

While she still looked like she could cry at any moment, the sobbing had stopped, but he'd waited until she finally looked him in the eye before breaking the silence.

"You don't have to," he assured her, reaching up to lightly brush a loose strand of hair off her face. Erin sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

"Thank you," she choked out, her voice rough after hours of sobbing. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Al insisted, going back to stroking her arm comfortingly once again. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, all right?"

He earned a soft smile for his conviction, and then she loosened her hold on her quilt to stretch a hand out towards him. Al responded in kind, covering her hand with his and stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"I didn't expect to…" she trailed off as tears welled in her eyes again, but she was quick to fight them off. A shaky sigh escaped her as she composed herself. "I've been fine, you know? I mean, I've had moments where it sort of hits me, but I didn't anticipate completely falling apart today."

Al gave a nod in understanding, choosing to just listen, no matter how much he wanted to fix things.

"I just…" her voice shook. "I feel like I should be okay by now. I don't want to completely fall apart year after year. But what if… what if I don't move past this and I can't… I can't…"

Her tears had started up again, and Al was quick to pull her into his arms, holding her tenderly against his chest as she soaked his shirt with her tears.

"Erin," he began hesitantly, hoping his need to offer advice and words of comfort wouldn't backfire on him, "you might _not _ever fully moved past this. But that's normal, yeah? She's always going to be gone and there's always going to be something missing. And you shouldn't feel guilty about continuing to grieve that."

The crying continued, but Al was certain she'd nodded against him, and he couldn't quite believe he'd actually managed to say the right thing.

"I miss her so much," Erin sobbed out. "She was… she was all I had. I… I never got the chance to know my other grandparents."

She pulled away from him slightly so she could wipe at her face. "I always felt like she could see me better than anyone, you know? Like I didn't ever have to pretend to be anything other than myself 'cause she'd see through it all anyway." She paused to sniff loudly and let out a few more sobs. "And I feel like there's a part of me that only she knew and now that she's gone, that part of me is gone too."

Her sobs shook her body as Al held on even more tightly, a shot of pain running through his heart at her words. He couldn't imagine what that felt like. Just the thought of losing someone so close to him that he'd feel like a part of himself was missing if they were gone was too painful to even begin to fathom. Actually having to deal with that was incomprehensible.

Unable to think of a single word of comfort that would make any difference, Al simply settled for holding her close, kissing her head, and shedding a few tears of his own until he could come up with a coherent thought. And even then, he didn't think it was worth much, but saying nothing didn't feel like an option either.

"I'm so sorry, love," he whispered in her ear. "I wish I could just fix it, but I know no one can ever replace your gran. Just tell me… if there's anything I can do to make any of it better, just tell me."

Al wasn't sure she'd really registered what he'd said, but whether it was his words or his presence, she seemed comforted when she took a deep breath and sunk even further into him. Her body shook with a few more tears as her hands fisted the front of his shirt, but Al breathed a sigh of relief when she quieted down only a few moments later. She was still a bit shaky, though that was understandable after crying herself to the point of exhaustion over the past few hours.

With every part of him, Al wished there was something more he could do to make things easier. Some magic words that would make her pain make sense. That would make the world make sense. Even if there were such words, he had no bloody clue what they were, so it wouldn't help anyway. So until he had the answers to the universe and all its complexities, he would do the most he could and hope it was enough.

And when her breathing began to even out as Al continued to hold her, no other words uttered as Erin drifted off to sleep, what he had to give seemed to be exactly what she needed.

Her eyes and throat ached as she slowly returned to consciousness. It took a moment for her to place where she was and why there was obviously a very solid chest under her cheek. But then she remembered how Al had spent the whole evening comforting her as she fell apart with grief.

Erin breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that - for now - the intense pang of sorrow she'd felt the entire day before had evaporated, leaving behind a strange sense of peace. Yes, she knew that she might not ever fully feel completely whole and healed after losing something so precious to her, but that was okay. She wasn't expected to. And while she was tempted to feel embarrassed by her display the previous evening, in that moment, all she felt was gratitude and love for the young wizard who was still holding her close as he snored softly, his exhales tickling her scalp as she rose and fell with his chest.

Slowly lifting her head so as not to wake him, Erin peaked at the clock beside her bed. She let out a quiet groan after seeing that there were still two hours before she actually had to get up for work, which meant she was wasting perfectly good sleep time reflecting on things that could wait to be reflected on until she'd had a decent amount of rest.

With a frustrated sigh, she sat up to pull the folded blanket at the end of her bed up over her and Al before resituating herself against her boyfriend in an effort to get comfortable. She'd just about managed to do so when he seemed to sense her movement, took a deep breath, and then turned towards her.

Erin held her breath, her eyes wide open as she watched for any sign that Al was actually awake, but he seemed to still be sleeping as he adjusted his hold on her so they were face to face. With an affectionate grin, Erin sidled up as close as possible to Al, pressing her chest against him and slipping her leg between both of his. And as Al responded by gripping her still more tightly to himself, the idea of going back to sleep and missing this rare moment became far less appealing to Erin.

It would be all too easy to tilt her face up and begin trailing kisses along his lightly stubbled jaw, but she hesitated, wondering if she should feel guilty about the thoroughly inappropriate thoughts running through her head that included a much less asleep and a slightly less clothed Albus Potter. Especially considering how the previous evening had been spent.

Grief was a frustrating mystery that Erin couldn't seem to wrap her head around. What was okay to feel? To question? To do? Were there rules for this sort of thing? It was extremely subjective, and she knew no one would ever have the exact same experience as someone else. Even with the same loss. Just the fact that she and her siblings were handling her gran's death differently was proof of that.

So maybe she didn't have to feel guilty about how she handled things. She could make up her own rules, right? Who cared if other people judged her for her actions. Not that they had in the past or that she was expecting them to, but it was always a fear.

And Al had said if there was anything he could do to make things better...

Before she could think herself into or out of it any more, Erin slowly placed a kiss on the underside of Al's chin, repeating the action a handful of times. It wasn't until she'd dragged her lips around to his jaw and involved her tongue that he seemed to register her actions. She grinned against his skin as he let out a groggy sounding groan, reflexively tipping his head back and giving her more access to his neck. Sliding down against his chest and causing her shirt to rise up, Erin proceeded to knead his neck with her tongue, causing Al to groan once again. But he didn't fully wake up until she slipped her leg even further between his, her thigh pressing up against him.

When his breath caught in his throat, Erin both heard and felt it. And when his fingers pressed into her back and she felt him gulp, she knew he was awake.

After only pausing for two seconds, Erin resumed her rather enjoyable task of tasting her boyfriend's skin. It was a bit salty - probably a combination of her earlier tears and the sweat he'd been unable to wash off after training - but also familiar. It was still a bit mind boggling to Erin that she could actually say she knew what Albus Potter tasted like.

Well, for the most part.

Before she could begin her goal of discovering even more of him, Al lifted her face to his, planting a sloppy yet searing kiss on her lips before pulling away to rest his forehead against hers.

"You all right?" he asked, breathless and groggy. "I mean… you all right?"

Erin was surprised to find herself giggling even as she grew nervous. "I'm fine," she assured him, "thanks to you."

Al pulled back so he could look her in the eyes, his own a little unfocused as he continued to wake up. "Yeah? You mean I actually managed to make you feel better?"

"Not for the first time," she said with a grin, endeared by how surprised he seemed to be that he'd actually successfully comforted her. "Probably won't be the last."

He grinned. "Here whenever you need me."

"I appreciate that," said Erin, seriously meaning it and hoping he knew that. She appreciated him for a great number of reasons. And she was learning just how much there was to appreciate about him almost daily.

"Where's your head at?" he asked her after a few moments of silence. His brow was furrowed in concern - most likely worried she'd fall apart again.

"Full of you, at the moment," she said truthfully, a cheeky grin accompanying her words as she wriggled slightly against him. Al smiled warmly before kissing her tenderly.

In truth, all Erin could currently think about was the way her leg had slipped further between his and that their chests were flattened together. It might be through their clothes, but he could feel her intimately. And she could feel him too.

And ever since they'd talked about how far they were planning to take things and when, they hadn't actually had a chance to make any of it happen.

They'd said they were going to let things build - take them one step at a time. And she'd felt ready for another step for a while now. She just hoped Al did too.

As Al continued to kiss her, Erin focused her attention on creating a bit of space between them and running her hands over his chest in soothing patterns, slowly traveling lower until she could slip them under his T-shirt. She grinned against Al's lips as this seemed to egg him on, his teeth gently pulling at her lower lip before soothing it over with his tongue, only for the process to be repeated with her upper one.

It was almost enough to drive Erin to distraction, but she was determined.

As much as her hands loved the feel of his muscular chest and abdomen - which had shown a lot of improvement, even over the last week and a half - it wasn't her goal. And this time, when her hands made it to the waistband of his sweatpants and one slipped underneath, he didn't swat it away.

He did, however, break away from their heated kiss.

Heart lodged in her throat and pounding erratically, Erin waited for his reaction, dreading the moment when he inevitably pulled away and put a stop to things. She could just barely feel him under her fingers, but was determined to wait to go any further until she knew he was on board. She even refused to meet his eyes at first, but the longer he took to do anything, the more impatient she got, before her eyes finally met his.

Damn, he was beautiful. And not in any type of fluffy way. He probably would've preferred her to say handsome, but it was her own damn private musings so who cared? The way his hair was disheveled from sleeping against her pillows, his lips swollen from kissing her, and his cheeks flushed from the heat between them - all beautiful. But what was probably the most beautiful was the look in his eyes. He wanted her. And she could see it more clearly in that moment than she ever had before. He also wanted to know that she really wanted him too. That she knew what she was doing and wouldn't regret it later.

And she loved him even more for every beautiful thing about him.

A smile broke out across her face, and that seemed to be all he needed, because he was kissing her again a moment later. It was even more intense than before, and Erin found herself rolling onto her back, her hand dislodged as Al moved to hover over her, resting on his elbows and probing her mouth with his tongue.

And then he ground his hips down into hers, and Erin felt breathless with excitement and desire.

In her head, she knew they wouldn't quite go all the way tonight, and that they maybe weren't even ready to, but damn if she didn't want to.

She took in gulping breaths of air and her hands wound into Al's hair when he began kissing down her neck, sitting back on his heels so he didn't have to use his hands to brace himself. Instead, he occupied them with the task of first gripping her waist, then sliding up her sides, pulling her T-shirt with them until his thumbs were barely tickling the underside of her breasts.

But they didn't stay there long. Erin let out a gasp of surprise, her hands moving to his shoulders when his warm hands met the cool skin of her stomach. He then slowly drew them up her front this time, the feel of it combined with the sensation of Al continuing to kiss her neck enough to make her dizzy.

And here Erin had been thinking she'd be the one to take charge.

When his hands slipped under her shirt and over her bra covered chest, Erin couldn't stop the moan that escaped her as her fingernails dug into his shoulders. She could feel Al grinning against her neck, and she was tempted to swat at him for being so smug. But then his mouth was on hers again and who cared if his pride got a little boost? It was well deserved.

His arms wrapped around her and he sat up, pulling her with him. They broke apart instinctively and Al helped to rid her of her shirt, his quickly following. Without pausing to think about it, Erin reached behind her back and easily unhooked her bra. At the sound of Al's intake of breath, she paused, looking into his eyes that were wide and fixed on her heaving chest. He only hesitated for a moment - glancing up to meet her eyes to make sure things were okay - before trailing his hands up her arms to her shoulders, slipping his fingers under her bra straps, and sliding them down over her goose fleshed skin.

It hadn't occurred to Erin that she'd be nervous when they got to this point. She'd been wanting and waiting to be this close to him, but the reality of it brought out all the fears and insecurities she hadn't fully realized were there. Did she look okay? Was she too small? And even is she did and she wasn't, would he like what he saw?

Her heart pounding and her mind whirring, Erin squeezed her eyes shut as the silky material separating her from his gaze fell completely away. The cool air hit her flesh and she felt her face growing hot, knowing he'd be able to see every inch of her and how she was reacting to the situation. Merlin, what was she doing? Being so vulnerable with someone who had all sorts of power to emotionally destroy her? Self preservation had gone completely out the window. At any moment, he could laugh and say that it had all been a joke. He'd only been with her all these months to get to the point where she was sitting topless in bed, wanting and aching for him, only so he could humiliate her.

But she knew in her heart that none of that could possibly be true. And when she felt the slightly rough hands of Albus Potter reaching up to cup her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks, her heart was proved right.

She sunk into his kiss as he lowered her back to the bed, hovering over her once again and exploring her newly exposed skin with his mouth. It crossed her mind briefly that this hadn't been quite where she'd planned their activities to head that evening, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Not when Al was murmuring into her skin that she was beautiful and that he loved her.

It was exhilarating - feeling his smooth lips and his slightly rough face gliding across her skin, exploring areas yet untouched by anyone. She let her hands wander up his arms, across his shoulders, and into his hair as he continued to lavish her with his attention, enjoying the smoothness of his skin and the softness of his hair. There was panting as he found areas that brought her pleasure, giggles as he discovered where she was ticklish. She wanted more. She didn't want it to end.

But when he slowed things down and held her to him a while later, breathless and lazily kissing her with their bare chests pressed together and much still undiscovered, Erin found she had to admit that Al had been right. This whole going slow thing hadn't actually been a bad idea. In fact, she was rather enjoying it.

* * *

Was it possible to be thoroughly exhausted and also have a spring in your step? Because Albus Potter was pretty sure that's exactly how he felt.

The night before had been excruciating and heartbreaking to experience. It was never pleasant to see someone you love in pain, whether emotional or physical. But things had changed when the early morning came and took a far more pleasant turn.

He'd been a bit hesitant to once again explore taking his physical relationship with Erin further. Their previous adventure down that road had been close to disastrous, and since him putting a stop to things had shaken Erin's confidence, he'd wanted to wait until he knew for sure she was ready to go down that road with him again. And three hours ago, it had been clear that she was.

He didn't even regret that he'd stopped things when he had. It would've been easy to go further, but the slow and steady pace was thrilling and exhilarating. There was no need to rush, and they could enjoy taking their time.

Working hard to contain a grin as thoughts of his morning spent with a half-naked Erin filled his head, Al took his usual seat beside Scorpius in their Curse Detection lecture. He let out a yawn, set down his coffee, pulled out his note taking essentials, and slipped on his glasses.

He still wasn't quite used to those. Or how much they made him look like his dad. He'd worked very hard to not look at himself in the mirror while wearing them. Not after that first time. And he wore them as sparingly as possible. Especially since, while Erin did say he looked good in them, he'd noticed she was a little more hesitant to do more than kiss him on the cheek while he wore them. Probably because she saw the resemblance too.

"We'll be continuing on the topic of Rune-based curses this morning," Sharkey said from the front of the class, waving his wand so a list of Runes appeared on the board behind him. Al let out a sigh, flipping to the part of his notebook where he'd copied out a key for the fundamental Runes that all the other ones stemmed from. He still wondered why it hadn't been a Hogwarts required course. Then again, they weren't studying to be curse breakers, just to recognize the signs. But it was bloody irritating to watch as a smug Scorpius answered just about every question thrown their way perfectly, as he was the only one in their group who'd actually taken the class.

For their lectures, they weren't always broken up by year, and it could change who was where from one week to the next, depending on the topic. Betty deserved chocolates and a pat on the back for being able to keep it all straight. But when it came to the practical work they did on Saturdays, it could be anywhere from just the three first years, to all ten trainees. He enjoyed those times, but he almost preferred the smaller groups better. There were more opportunities to learn and participate, something he found himself enjoying much more now than he did when he was at Hogwarts.

Today, however, in a class of just the first years, all he wanted was to be back in Erin's bed with her curled around him. And he found the state of dress she was in wouldn't matter to him. It was simply being with her that really counted.

But he wasn't about to complain about the recent developments either.

He was pulled from his musings by the sound of his best friend giving an amused snort from beside him. Al blinked rapidly to refocus, glancing at the clock and realizing they were already thirty minutes into their two hour lecture, and he'd barely registered any of it.

"You planning on actually paying any attention today?" Scorpius murmured from the chair next to him. Al shot him a look after making sure Sharkey wasn't paying attention to them. He quickly gathered that their trainer had given them something to work on and was over at Eden's desk answering a question she had while Scorpius made quick work of whatever they'd been assigned to do.

And he had no idea what that was.

"Shit," he mumbled, scrutinizing the board for any signs of what they were supposed to be doing.

"We're identifying the roots," Scorpius said softly, amusement in his eyes as Al quickly got to work.

"Bugger off," Al grumbled. "I had a late night."

A guilty look crossed Scorpius' face, and he focused back on his own work.

"Sorry, mate," he said, continuing to talk as quietly as possible. "She okay?"

Al gave a nod, choosing not to say anything else as Sharkey moved back towards the board and turned his gaze on them, no doubt having heard their mumbled words. He could feel Scorpius throwing him glances, but ignored them, focusing in on the work he had to do as Sharkey began erasing the Runes on the board to replace them with new ones.

After two hours of lecture combined with bouts of translation, Al and Scorpius left the lecture room, leaving Eden behind as she approached their trainer with more questions. They had a fifteen minute break before their next lecture, which was Regulations and Protocol with Ferguson.

He and Scorpius had developed a habit of spending their mid morning break grabbing snacks from the vending machines in the lounge - which you had to pass through to get to the dorms - and refilling on their beverage of choice. This was pretty typical of most of the trainees that had lectures. The second and third years didn't have them every day, but they found Ethan and Zoe already in the lounge when they arrived, each relaxing in their own arm chairs.

Al greeted them before wandering over to get a fresh cup of coffee, studiously avoiding Ethan's eyes but trying not to be obvious about it.

"So," said Scorpius, having followed him over to make his own cup, "what exactly happened last night?"

Al paused, momentarily startled by the question, but resumed his task of stirring in sugar almost immediately, hoping his hesitation wasn't picked up by his rather observant best friend.

"I mean, you saw her last night," said Al, doing his best to sound somber and succeeding rather well, especially since remembering the unpleasant part of the past twenty-four hours wasn't actually that enjoyable. "She was a bit of a wreck for a little while longer after I got her home, but finally calmed down enough to talk for a bit. I managed not to say the wrong thing, and she eventually fell asleep."

Scorpius nodded. "And you stayed with her?"

"Yep," said Al, now fighting valiantly to hold in a grin as their early morning flashed across his mind. "I think she was doing all right this morning."

"Good," said Scorpius, sipping on his straight black coffee and watching Al. He hoped he looked away soon. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hold back a grin. The muscles in his cheeks were nearly spasming with the effort.

"Well," Scorpius said with a sigh, turning so he was leaning back against the kitchen counter, "based on the fact that you've been grinning like a fool all morning, I'm guessing that's not really all that happened."

Al paused in raising his now appropriately modified cup of coffee to his lips. Damn. He'd been trying so hard not to be obvious about it. Not that he wouldn't mind bragging a bit about his night, but he did want to respect not just Erin's privacy, but their relationship as a whole as well. It felt crass to walk up to his best friend and say, "_mate, guess what? I saw my girlfriend's tits last night, how was your evening?"_

Not to mention he'd done more than just see them, and articulating that wasn't something he felt he could bring himself to do flippantly. It was one thing when you were talking objectively with your mates in the dorm or locker room, but Al was surprised to find that, when it came to talking about the actual things he was doing with the girl he was in a relationship with, it was a lot harder to be open. Even when he'd been with Mandy and they'd gone a little further than snogging - fondling her through her top had seemed like such an accomplishment back then - he was open about it and even bragged. But now that he'd gone even farther with Erin, he wanted to protect it. And her.

Blimey, he must really love her if he felt uncomfortable doing something he'd barely given a second thought to in the past. The stakes were a lot higher this time.

"Maybe not," Al said with a shrug, deciding he might as well let himself grin. No real point in hiding it now. Scorpius watched Al expectantly as he turned to lean with his back against the counter as well.

"And?" Scorpius finally asked impatiently.

"And nothing," said Al. "You think I'm actually going to tell you?"

"Nothing's ever stopped you before."

Al laughed. "You used to hate it when I talked about stuff like this. Probably because you were quite a bit more innocent-"

A thought blasted into his mind and he stopped short, looking at his best mate with wide eyes. Wait. _Not _his best mate. His cousin's boyfriend.

"Shit, have you and Rose…?"

It took a moment, but when he caught on to what Al was implying, Scorpius nearly choked on his coffee and his eyes widened in surprise. "What? No! What made you think…? Did you and Erin…?"

"No!" said Al, immediately cringing and lowering his voice as he continued, hoping Ethan and Zoe were ignoring them. Glancing over there to check was not an option. That's just what he needed - his girlfriend's brother to see it written plainly on Al's face that he'd seen Erin half naked.

"Sorry," said Al. "You just don't normally ask questions so I figured-"

"Yeah, well, maybe I've grown up a little," said Scorpius, hesitating before adding, "and I'm not quite as innocent as I was before either."

Al raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Yeah? Care to share?"

Scorpius shrugged and turned slightly pink. "Not really a whole lot to share, actually. Just… you know… there's been some more intense snogging in… not quite so innocent positions. Or locations."

Al grinned, sipping his coffee and doing his best to forget that they were talking about his cousin.

There was a lengthy pause as they both sipped their coffees before Al couldn't help himself.

"Fully clothed?"

Scorpius cast him a sideways glance, cheeks still pink as he nodded. Al grinned.

"Then you're still more innocent than me."


	13. Oh you're a hard one

At first, Rose had been under the impression that it would be neat to work in a semi-Muggle environment. For the most part, it was. But if that damn copier jammed one more time, she'd be far too tempted to light it on fire with her wand.

"Shit!"

Rose looked up from the control panel on the still beeping copier to see her coworker scrambling through the stacks of notes on her desk. She had a pencil shoved behind her ear, her curly black hair tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. Rose even noted a few gray hairs, which she was surprised to find on someone in their mid-twenties. A few flyaways were hanging across Rita's face, brushing against her angular features. Her lips were bright red today, matching the red blazer and red framed glasses that sat on her pointed nose.

"Damn it!" Rita hissed, narrowing her deep brown eyes and scrutinizing a ripped piece of note paper before tossing it aside and grabbing her phone. She looked towards Rose after dialing.

"I forgot to confirm the dinner reservation," she grumbled. Rose could barely glimpse Rita's knee bouncing up and down under her desk, a sign that Rose had picked up on even after only two weeks there. She was nervous.

"Yes, hi. I need to confirm a reservation for tonight?" said Rita, her voice more calm and collected than her demeanor. "Under Bobbin," she continued. Rose turned back to the copier, finally managing to get the paper tray back in. She let out a sigh of relief when the beeping finally stopped.

"Look, I know I was supposed to confirm twenty-four hours in advance, but-" Rita stopped abruptly, whoever was on the other end having cut her off. She pressed her lips firmly together, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Ma'am, I understand that it's inconvenient for you, but I would greatly appreciate a little understanding here."

She paused to listen once again as Rose made her way back towards the desk, Mrs. Franks client list for the next day finally printed and in her hands.

"Well, my boss is entertaining a very important client today, and just like you don't want to get in trouble, I don't either. So is there anything we can do to make this work?"

Rose sat quietly, holding her breath as the person on the other end responded. Her eyes were pulled from watching Rita grip the phone when Grant Turner walked in, returning from his run to the Muggle post office.

"Did you get it?" Rose asked in an undertone, he nodded, approaching her side of the desk and handing her a few receipts. Mr. Turner had never traveled the Muggle way internationally, but would be required to on a trip he'd be taking with Mr. Bobbin in a few months to meet with a potential author, so he'd had to apply for his passport.

Rose pulled out her cheat sheet for doing business expenses while Mr. Turner continued to stand in front of them, his hands in his trouser pockets as he watched Rita with a furrowed brow.

The best way Rose had found to describe Grant Turner was familiar, like she'd met half a dozen different versions of him before. He was in his late twenties but acted much older. He had brown hair, cropped close around his ears and slightly longer on the top. His complexion was fair, but slightly tanned. It was hard to make out the color of his eyes, but Rose thought they might be hazel. His features were attractive, but not particularly striking. And he was tall and thin, similar to Scorpius, but not quite as muscular. He'd definitely spent more time in the library than on the Quidditch pitch.

"Well, couldn't you just push a few of those tables together?" Rita ground out, her eyes locked on Mr. Turner and her cheeks slightly pink as she continued to talk to the restaurant. He raised his eyebrows, continuing to scrutinize his assistant.

It had become apparent to Rose from day one that Rita had a strange dynamic with her boss. It wasn't inappropriate, as far as Rose could tell, but there was an undefinable tension. She couldn't figure out if they loved or hated each other. Sometimes it seemed like both. Of course, she hadn't been around long enough to actually ask, and Mrs. Franks hadn't said anything to her about it either.

"I would appreciate it very much," Rita continued, her shoulders losing some of their tension and her gaze falling from her boss. "They'll be there at half past six. Perfect, thank you."

Rita let out a heavy sigh as she hung up the phone, beginning to tidy up her desk once again and avoiding the gaze of Mr. Turner.

"Did you forget to confirm the reservation?" he asked, his tone even and calm. Rita continued with her task, merely giving him a glance.

"You have a table," she said, not fully answering his question and continuing to avoid his eyes. Rose watched as he smirked before slowly making his way towards his office and saying nothing else. All of Rita's tension immediately fell away as soon as his door closed.

"That was a little too close," she said, slumping back in her chair and patting down her hair with her hands.

"How much trouble would you have gotten in?" Rose asked.

"Hard to say," Rita said with a shrug. "I've worked for him for a year now and he's always been a bit unpredictable, and even more so lately."

Rose nodded, agreeing with her coworker. She'd had a hard time getting a read on the editor. Not only was it hard to predict how he'd react, but it was difficult to even decipher his reactions. He rarely smiled, and Rose was fairly sure no one had ever done anything to impress him.

After taking a deep breath, Rita got back to work, and Rose did the same. She Flooed home an hour later, tired and already wishing for the weekend that was still a day away. And it wasn't until another hour after that when she finally felt relaxed, changed out of her work clothes and sitting at the kitchen table with a book after eating some of yesterday's pasta.

She'd just gotten to the part of her book that she'd seen coming chapters ago and had been anxious to get to, when she heard the sound of Erin arriving through the Floo.

"I saved you some pasta!" Rose hollered, trying to quickly get to the end of a paragraph.

"Oh, I'm just getting changed real quick and then meeting Al for dinner!" Erin hollered back.

A whirlwind of emotions that she hadn't been expecting hit Rose, and a sick feeling grew in her stomach. It was always shocking how quickly a few simple words could have such a visceral effect, and this time, it wasn't difficult for Rose to figure out why.

First, her best friend was now in a serious relationship, and she'd been spending an increasing amount of time with her boyfriend, who happened to be one of Rose's other best friends and cousin. So there was the inevitable pang of feeling left behind.

Second, she was reminded of the fact that her own boyfriend, whom she was very much in love with and had only recently told her he loved her too, had been a bit distant.

She knew it was unfair to so closely compare not just their relationship to Al and Erin's, but also Al and Scorpius in general. Her cousin had made a valiant effort to spend time with Erin over the last week, and he'd been very successful. Scorpius, however, didn't seem desperate or eager to do the same with Rose. She hadn't seen him since the previous Friday night, and she'd only seen him two times in total since his training had started.

After their conversation in the kitchen that night, Rose wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't what had actually happened. They'd Flooed a few times and she'd asked if he was free to spend time with her throughout the week, but he'd insisted he had too much work to do. Seeing Al having no problem finding time for Erin had frustrated Rose, but then Scorpius had always been a bit more diligent with his studies than Al. Maybe it was unfair to assume something was wrong and he was keeping his distance. He was probably just a little overwhelmed and wanted to stay on top of things.

"You can come with us, if you'd like," Erin said as she entered the kitchen, fastening a hair tie around the end of her plait. Rose looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that," she said dismissively, marking her place and setting her book aside.

"Why not?" asked Erin. "We're all still best friends. And Al was just saying the other day that he really misses you."

Rose melted a little at those words, a bit of warmth returning to her. "But I've already eaten."

Erin rolled her eyes. "There was only one serving of pasta left. If you saved me some, you barely ate anything. Come on, we're trying the new pub down the street."

She walked over to their front door, slipping on her sandals and grabbing Rose's. The redhead barely got her hands up in time to catch them when they came flying at her.

"Erin," she said with a bemused chuckle, but her flatmate didn't allow her to argue further.

"Rose, you've stayed in every night this week, and hanging out at Fred and Ly's with Dom doesn't count as going out. It's only one floor below us."

Rose let herself smile and finally give in, standing from the table and laughing at a clapping Erin as she slipped her shoes on.

"If you two so much as look like you're about to start snogging, I'm leaving," Rose said as she followed Erin out of the flat. Erin let out a chuckle in response.

"We'll behave ourselves."

They stepped out into the warm evening and proceeded down the street, filling each other in on their days. With the anniversary of her grandmother's death and most of the following days spent with Al, Rose hadn't spent a lot of time with Erin over the week either. Doing so now was enough to raise Rose's spirits and forget her concerns about Scorpius and their lack of time together.

Until they entered the restaurant, shock replacing her joy when she saw not one, but two Auror trainees waiting for them.

And Scorpius looked just as shocked to see her too.

* * *

When Al had first suggested that he join him and Erin for dinner, Scorpius had been hesitant. He had things he could be studying, and he'd wanted to finish the book he was reading as well. But he knew his real hesitation came from guilt. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he knew he'd been avoiding Rose.

It wasn't that she'd done anything wrong or that he didn't want to spend time with her, but he was still having a difficult time with his godfather's sudden departure, and he didn't think Rose would understand.

The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that Rose didn't like Theo. And talking to her about his disappointment sounded painful.

Not to mention Theo's comments about Rose's family kept coming back to him, no matter how much he wanted to forget them.

It's not like he believed them anyway.

But, somehow, Al had talked Scorpius into going out, and his guilt quickly multiplied as soon as he locked eyes with Rose.

She was quick to attempt a smile and approach him, but he'd seen the flash of confusion and hurt on her face.

"I didn't know you'd be here!" he heard Erin say in excitement. He only had a moment to smile at her before Rose was in front of him. And he didn't even hesitate before wrapping her up in his arms.

Wow, had avoiding her been a huge mistake. He already felt ten times better than he had all week just by holding her.

He still felt guilty as well as stupid, though, and knew he owed her an explanation.

They pulled away from each other as Al announced that their table was ready. Scorpius heisted for a moment before taking Rose's hand in his as they walked through the restaurant.

"I've been dying to try this place," Erin said as she sat down next to Al - Rose and Scorpius across from them. "And craving a burger as well."

She and Al continued to aimlessly chat, not paying attention to the fact that Rose's face was buried in the menu. Scorpius couldn't take his eyes off her. She was obviously upset with him, and he didn't really blame her. He'd told her on Sunday that he wouldn't have time to see her all week. To make matters worse, she'd been under the impression that he'd spent Sunday with Theo and his parents, when he'd ended up doing neither of those things.

There was nothing he could do to fix it right now. Having a conversation like that in front of Al and Erin didn't seem like a pleasant option, so he focused on trying to make a decision on what to order. If only he hadn't lost his appetite a few minutes ago.

He became so lost in the menu and his thoughts, that he'd missed the signs of where Erin was taking the conversation.

"I mean, I think I'm looking forward to it because I really do love my godmother, but Luna and I have never had much in common."

"It's nice of her to reach out like that, though," said Al. "I got used to seeing my godfather all the time, and I think it'll be neat for you all to get to spend more time with yours now."

Scorpius doubled his efforts to make it look like he was having a very hard time deciding what to order, but his attempt was in vain.

"Have you gotten to see much of Theo?" Erin asked, and Scorpius took a moment, still acting like his attention was taken up with the menu as he attempted to respond nonchalantly.

"Oh, he left town."

The table fell silent. He knew they were all watching him, unsure what to say. He didn't really know what to say either.

"When?"

Scorpius met Rose's eyes. She truly sounded disappointed for him, and she looked it too.

"He wrote me on Saturday," said Scorpius, still hoping he sounded like it didn't bother him.

"That's why he couldn't take us for drinks?" Al asked, a look on his face that Scorpius couldn't quite decipher. Suspicious, maybe? Scorpius nodded.

"I'm really sorry," said Rose, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. Scorpius gave her a forced smile before turning back to his menu.

"It's fine. What are you all ordering?"

"Oh my God!"

They all flinched in surprise at Erin's outburst. She stood, smiled, and waved at someone across the room.

"That's Kiran!" she said, reaching down to grab Al's arm and pull him to his feet as they all glanced in the direction she was looking. "Come on, I want you to meet him."

She dragged Al off to the other side of the restaurant to meet her new coworker, leaving Rose and Scorpius on their own. He wasn't at all surprised when Rose turned her full attention on him almost immediately.

"I'm really sorry," he said before she could get out an accusation. Her expression was hard as he looked at her apologetically.

"For ignoring me, lying, or both?" she asked, her tone challenging yet shaky.

"Both," he said guiltily. "This stuff with Theo really messed with my head and I just didn't handle it well."

Rose nodded before looking down at her hands. She was nervously picking at her fingernails and seemed to be gathering her courage to say whatever it was she wanted to ask him next.

"Did you mean it?" she asked softly. "What you said the other night?"

He looked at her questioningly. "Which part?"

A bit of her confidence came back as she grew frustrated with him, rolling her eyes and sighing as she looked at him impatiently. "The part where you said you love me? That you're in this and plan on fighting for it?"

"What?" Scorpius asked in surprise, the stiff posture he hadn't realized he'd been maintaining falling away as he turned to face her more fully. "Rose, of course I meant that. Why would you think I didn't?"

"Maybe because I've barely heard from you since?" she argued, crossing her arms and looking at him with wide eyes. "Maybe because you've made no effort to see me, even though you had time to, as tonight's proved. Or maybe it's because you're obviously having a hard time with this, but chose to ignore me rather than tell me what's going on."

Scorpius sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He knew she'd react like this, but he also knew it couldn't be helped. Not only had he made his choices, but they had nothing to do with his relationship with Rose.

"I'm sorry I did anything to make you think that way," he said. "But none of this has anything to do with that."

"Really?" Rose asked, her voice skeptical and a bit sarcastic. "The fact that we love each other in no way holds any weight when it comes to your life?"

"I didn't say that."

"So it does?"

"Of course!"

"And you trust me?"

"Completely."

"Then why didn't you tell me what happened?"

"Because I didn't think you'd understand!" he snapped, almost immediately regretting it. He was still avoiding her gaze, but Scorpius could tell out of the corner of his eye that Rose was sitting remarkably still. What he said had stung.

"I know you don't like Theo," Scorpius continued, keeping his gaze firmly away from her and on the table in front of him. "You didn't have to tell me because it was fairly obvious every time I mentioned spending time with him that you didn't like the idea. So I figured you'd be happy he was gone and wouldn't understand why him up and leaving me once again hurts so damn much."

He hadn't meant to share quite so openly, but maybe it was for the best. They did love each other after all. Weren't you supposed to be able to be vulnerable with the people who loved you?

"Will you please look at me?" she asked softly.

Scorpius closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her once again. It was obvious she was frustrated, but he still saw kindness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "Not just because what he did hurt you, but for not being supportive of your relationship with Theo. It's not that I don't like him, it's that I don't know him and he's given me no reason to trust him."

"How about the fact that _I_ trust him?" Scorpius asked.

"Scorp, you said it yourself," she said softly. "It hurt you that he left, and seeing as he's done it before, I was afraid he would do it again. I didn't trust him not to hurt you."

Scorpius gave an unamused laugh, crossing his arms and looking away from her again. "Guess you were right, then."

"I didn't want to be, and I'm trying to be understanding because I know you're hurting," Rose continued, "but if you're going to close yourself off from me every time someone else causes you to lose faith in them, this isn't going to work."

Her words hit hard. Partly because he knew she was right, but also because he realized how afraid he was of _her_ losing faith in _him_.

"You're right," he said, reaching out to gently take her hand in his and meeting her eyes. She visibly relaxed at the gesture and gripped his hand. "I'm sorry. Next time I'm upset about something, I'll do my best not to shut you out, all right?"

Rose smiled at him for the first time that night. "All right," she said. "Can we talk a little more about this later? They're heading back over."

Scorpius nodded, still not feeling quite settled about the whole thing, but knowing that Rose only wanted what was best for him. And their relationship as well. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek just as Al and Erin returned to the table.

"You two fancy splitting an order of the pretzel bites?" Al asked. "They had some over at their table and they smell fantastic."

Scorpius smiled as he picked his menu back up, Rose heartily agreeing to Al's idea. He let himself relax and enjoy spending time with his best friends for the first time in what felt like ages. He knew it had really only been a few weeks, but with the long days of training and the emotional stress he'd recently had piled on, it felt like a lot longer.

They were able to get through the majority of the meal with laughter and lightheartedness, until Al once again brought up the subject of Theo.

"How come you didn't mention he'd left?" Al asked after sharing his surprise that Scorpius' godfather had in fact left town.

"Well, you were a bit preoccupied," he said, nodding to Erin to indicate what had been keeping Al's attention.

"Yeah, but you could've told me when you said he couldn't take us out on Saturday," Al argued.

"Look, I was upset, all right?" said Scorpius, growing frustrated by the topic. "I wasn't up to sharing that quite yet."

Al nodded, seeming to let it go.

"Any clue where he went?"

"No fucking idea," Scorpius snapped before chugging the remainder of his beer and hoping Al got the hint.

"Okay," said Al, putting up his hands in defeat before reaching for his own beer. "Just let me know if you hear from him."

"Why?" Scorpius asked, puzzled by the slightly odd request.

"So I'll know that you need to be pulled out of whatever funk his next letter puts you in," said Al.

"Who says the next time I hear from him won't be good news?" Scorpius asked, his good mood successfully ruined.

"It might not be," Al said with a shrug as their waitress dropped off the bill. "But let me know anyway."

Scorpius wasn't sure why, but he could tell that this was something that Al actually really cared about. So he gave his best friend a nod as Al picked up the check and said he'd take care of it.

"Come on," said Rose, reaching for Scorpius' hand after Al had paid. "Let's take a walk."

* * *

The Diagon Alley Christmas Festival. That was the last time things had felt this tense between them.

Not that there hadn't been tension in the meantime. Especially in the weeks leading up to the day they became more than friends. Like when they'd spent time together at the village in Ireland over Easter break, as well as the day following. And the week leading up to their first official date, which had ended in their first kiss and cemented the change in their relationship. All that had tension, but it was a different kind. There was something enjoyable about your rapidly beating heart and your nervous twitching and your mind spinning in circles when you knew something good was happening.

That wasn't the case now.

Whatever was happening, it felt unsettling. Like Rose was trying to pull something back together that had somehow managed to start crumbling.

Part of her also knew that was a little dramatic. Life wasn't always peachy, and the people you love are bound to go through things that you can't quite understand or explain. She knew she would have her moments too. But every part of her was screaming to do everything she could to regain control of things, to fix what she could, and to make things as okay as she could possibly manage.

Best to start with the source.

"Do you want to talk about why this is so hard for you?" she asked. They'd made it to her building and headed towards the small park across the street. Scorpius had his hands in his pockets, but Rose kept her hand loosely secured in the crook of his arm. He still seemed out of sorts after Al's questioning.

"Wouldn't it be hard for you if your godfather only acted like he cared when it was convenient for him?" he asked, irritation obvious in his voice. "Oh, wait. How could I forget that yours is the savior of the whole bloody world. No way he won't always be there when you need him."

Rose stopped in her tracks, her hand falling from his arm as he took a couple more steps into the park. Scorpius never spoke that harshly, with obvious disdain and judgment in his voice. She tried to keep the tears from welling in her eyes as he turned to face her. He looked a little guilty, but not enough to apologize, apparently.

"Maybe you're right," she choked out. "Maybe I don't understand, but that doesn't mean I don't want to. And the only way I will is if you let me."

The summer air between them was icy as they faced each other, unmoving until Scorpius took a deep breath and hung his head before walking over to stand right in front of her. Rose folded her arms and turned her head to the side, making it obvious she wasn't looking at him.

"Rose, all your life, you've had people who are there for you no matter what," Scorpius began. "Your parents, your brother, your cousins and aunts and uncles. And a whole slew of other people as well. I've never had that luxury. I have two parents who I know have always loved me, but my father isn't exactly all warm and affectionate. And now with Mum not being well…"

He trailed off and shrugged his shoulders, glancing away from Rose and immediately making her feel horrible for pushing any of this. With everything else going on, she'd forgotten that his mother's health was now in question.

"My grandmother might be better than she used to be," he continued as if the topic could be easily skimmed over, "but she's a piece of work. And sure, I have a relationship with my mum's sister and her family, but it's nothing like what I see in your life. I mean, you all love each other enough to actually scream at each other when the occasion warrants it," he said with a disbelieving chuckle. "My family is all cold shoulders and judgmental looks and acting as passive aggressive as possible."

In all honesty, Rose had never thought too much about how different Scorpius' family was to hers. There was the obvious differences when it came to their histories, but that was in the past. She'd never fully realized how different they still were.

"But Theo is different," he continued, and she finally found the courage to meet his pleading eyes. "He doesn't buy into all the family legacy shit and he listens to me and doesn't shy away from being real. And I thought he was actually going to be someone who was there for me and stuck around."

Realizing how desperately Scorpius wanted this was enough to break a fraction of her heart. It was something she'd always taken for granted, having so many people that she knew she could rely on. And now Scorpius had thought he'd gained one back, only for it to be gone so quickly. And with his mum's health being in doubt, the possibility that he could lose another was very real.

It made her feel selfish and naive, but she also saw something that she didn't think he did.

"Scor, you know you do have people that _have_ stuck around," she said earnestly. "And they'll continue to. I'm not going anywhere. Al and Erin aren't. Neither are the rest of my family. And I know Harry and Ginny care about you. She once told me that you mean almost as much to her as her own kids, and she wouldn't say something like that lightly."

She had to smile at the way he perked up at her words, obviously surprised by them.

"Please don't ever think you'll run out of people that care about you," she continued. "There are more than enough Weasleys and Potters to make sure that never happens."

A rush of relief went through her when Scorpius smiled, even if it was tentative. He took a step closer and ran his hands up and down her arms affectionately. Her whole body relaxed as she leaned slightly into him.

"I'll do my best to remember that," he said. "But I also need you to understand that no matter how much your family might be there for me, it'll never be exactly the same as if it were my own."

Rose nodded, because she did want to understand that, even if it wasn't easy to do. He was part of her family. Why couldn't he see that?

Eventually, he would. She knew that. It would just make things a whole lot easier if he figured it out now.

"And I need you to understand that I can't actually be there for you if you're not telling me things," said Rose, placing her hands on his forearms as his own stopped at her elbows. "You say you want someone who's there for you and understands and listens, and I want to be that for you. Will you please let me?"

It hurt a bit to know that she wanted to give Scorpius something that it was obvious he wanted, but it didn't seem to occur to him that she was capable of providing it.

A look of tenderness and love took over his face as he lifted his hands to her cheeks, gently caressing them with his thumbs. And Rose felt like he finally understood exactly how she felt.

"You're that for me every day, love," he said sincerely. Rose closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead and then pulled her close, holding her head against his chest so she could feel it rumbling as he spoke. "Every damn day, I know I'm lucky I'll always have you."

And his honesty in that moment - because she knew he meant it - was enough to make everything else seem so small, that it almost faded into nothingness as she held him close and hoped everything stayed exactly as it was now.

* * *

**A/N: I know you've been asking for more ScoRose, and while this might not have been the type of interaction you were hoping for, it's still important! This story won't always be about Scorpius and his struggles with various forms of identity and relationships. But he's also not the only one. And it's a very turbulent time in a person's life, leaving school and adjusting to the real world. He's got a lot going on.**

**Don't worry, we'll get to the good stuff later on. You might just have to bear with me longer than you'd like. But I hope you enjoyed a more speedy update than what's been normal lately! Always feel free to review and let me know how much you appreciate that.**


	14. You didn't count on me

It had been two weeks since they'd all accidentally had dinner together, and Erin was happy to report that whatever weird, awkward, and unsettling rut that Rose and Scorpius' relationship had somehow fallen into seemed to be in the past.

She wasn't oblivious, contrary to what her roommate and her roommate's boyfriend might think. It had been obvious that things weren't normal all week. Rose had been mopey, for one thing. Al had mentioned Scorpius was too. It hadn't exactly been planned to get them both to dinner that night, but it hadn't not been planned either. Al said he missed Rose, Erin said she missed Scorpius… It all just sort of worked itself out after that.

At first, Erin had regretted her meddling. Dinner had started out awkward as hell. Thankfully, the excuse to leave the table had miraculously shown up, and things had been a lot better upon their return. Until Al had opened his mouth.

She loved the bloke, but really. He wasn't always the best at reading the room.

It had also been very amusing to introduce Al to Kiran, who hadn't stopped mentioning it to her just about every day since.

"Is his family _really _as close as the press makes them out to be?" he asked late in the afternoon on the last Friday in August.

"Yes, they're all very close," Erin said with a sigh, checking her notes and marking off that she'd added the second measurement of holly berries. "All the aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins get along tremendously. Well… for the most part. There's been some drama with a few lately, but you didn't hear that from me."

Kiran immediately perked up at the prospect of juicy details. "Really? Drama amidst the chosen family?"

"No one calls them that."

"Do they ever have parties?" Kiran asked, tilting his head in thought almost as if he were trying to work his way around a dilemma. "Like, ones that you - as a guest - could invite your own friends to?"

Erin narrowed her eyes at him. "No, they don't, and before you even make the suggestion, I'm not going to make sure you get to know Al better just so _he _can be the one to invite you."

Kiran pouted and slouched on the table across from her. "You're no fun."

A smirk grew on Erin's face, but it immediately fell away at his parting comment.

"I suppose I'll just have to wait until I'm invited to your wedding."

Her eyes widened and she was struck silent as Kiran left her lab, cackling as he went.

People really needed to stop saying things like that. It was liable to send her into a panic.

As long as she focused on work, she wouldn't have to think about the fact that her relationship was growing more serious by the day.

She really did love Al. There was no doubt in her mind about that. But they were only eighteen. They had so much life to live. There was no need to get serious so soon. They had plenty of time for that, but any talk of settling down and marriage was for the future, not when she was eighteen.

Half an hour later, there was a rap on Erin's open door and Draco stuck his head in. "I'm heading out for the evening and everyone else is gone too. Remember to lock up the Floo when you leave and don't work too late?"

Erin nodded and smiled at her boss. "Just a few more steps to finish up and then I've got myself a party to get to."

With a final nod, Draco was gone, leaving Erin to peacefully stir in the last few ingredients for her potion. After letting it simmer for five minutes, she removed it from the flames before ladling some into an empty vial. She held it up to the light, squinting at the nearly translucent pink potion, and she only had to wait ten seconds before it began to grow cloudy. Just like it had done last time.

"Damn it," she cursed under her breath, putting a stopper in the vial and laying it next to five others that looked similar, all with varying degrees of cloudiness. She'd been closer with the last one.

They'd been working to adapt this particular potion for cost reasons, swapping out ingredients for similar ones that were cheaper and attempting to produce the same results. It hadn't quite worked yet.

With a sigh, Erin picked up her notebook and checked the time. She was due at the Burrow in five minutes to bid farewell to the Weasleys and Potters still returning to Hogwarts. It had felt a little odd to be invited. This had always been one of those occasions that only those in the actual family got invited to. But now that she qualified as a "significant other," which Ginny had pointed out when she and Al had gone to his parents' for dinner the week before, she was invited to come, and even expected.

Just another sign in her mind that things were straying into the world of serious when it came to her relationship.

She could afford to be a few minutes late.

After making sure the fire was put out and everything that needed to be packed away to keep fresh was taken care of, Erin made her way to the library at the end of the hall of potion labs. It had become her favorite spot to think in the month she'd been working for Draco at Malfoy Manor. Sometimes she'd spread herself out at one of the desks, books and notes scattered everywhere. Other times, she preferred a corner of the couch, which was where she settled herself tonight.

With a sigh, she relaxed back into the cushions that were far more comfortable than their appearance led you to believe, and flipped through her notes on her current project. That was something she'd had to grow more meticulous about, rather than just relying on her memory. She had to catalogue every step she took with each new batch, not only to make sure she had it documented when she eventually got it right - hopefully - but also to make sure she never made the same mistake twice.

If only she could just intuitively know which part to change each time.

It wasn't until she'd spent what she only thought was about fifteen minutes studying her notes and formulating a new plan for Monday, that Erin finally glanced up at the clock, only to realize it had actually been an hour. She grimaced before making one last note and closing her notebook, hoping no one would notice how late she was to the Burrow.

But before she could go, the usual tasks relegated to the last to leave had to take place. After checking to make sure nothing was still lit in any of the labs or in Draco's office, she wandered back into the library, cast a quick spell to tidy things up, and took off her lab robes. She hung them on the only remaining hook by the Floo, the others all taken up by her coworkers. Her bag was slung over her shoulder and her wand in the pocket of her skirt. Draco was still old fashioned enough to insist on business attire even while working in the labs. Finally, she reached to grab the jar of Floo powder, only for the Floo to light up before she had the chance.

Erin barely had a moment to take a step back in surprise before someone was coming through the Floo, and it wasn't until she took in the full black attire and mask covered face of the late night guest to the Manor that she realized she should even be wary at all.

Her mouth opened in a scream and she reached for her wand, but the intruder was on her before she had much of a chance to do either. And everything happened in a blur of fear and shock and terror, her wrist twisted behind her back in a strong grasp and a rough hand smothering her mouth as she was held against a solid chest.

And the last thing she remembered was the sound of the Floo bursting to life once again before everything went dark.

* * *

The Burrow was full of people, as was tradition the night before they returned to Hogwarts.

Only Rose wasn't returning this year.

All summer, she hadn't been saddened by this fact. It would randomly pop into her head when she made plans for days she'd normally be spending at Hogwarts or got even more settled in her flat and her job, but the whole missing it aspect hadn't hit home yet. And it was now.

She glanced around the room, enjoying the last day that most of her family would be together for a while. Molly was sitting on a couch by the fire with Ethan, deep in conversation with Lysander and Dominique, who were sitting together quite cozily on the rug in front of the former Head Boy and the new Head Girl. Rose was so excited for Molly. When McGonagall had asked for a recommendation, she'd felt it might be unethical to recommend a family member. But after hesitantly saying she couldn't really picture anyone else filling the roll, the Headmistress had smiled at her and agreed.

Rose's attention moved to Ethan, who was smiling warmly at his girlfriend while she talked to her cousin. A pang went through Rose, knowing they'd have to face a year of distance. She was grateful she'd never had to do that.

At the sound of laughter, Rose's eyes jumped to where Lily and Lucy were on the other side of the couch with Violet and James, playing with the puppy he'd bought for his girlfriend for their one year anniversary a few weeks before. It warmed Rose's heart to see Lily smiling. And to see her spending time with Lucy. Their relationship hadn't been quite as affected by recent events as the others, but if Lucy was anything, she was honest, and there was no way she would have let them just slip back into a stable relationship without talking about everything first.

Maybe things were looking up for her brother and younger cousins.

At this thought, Rose's eyes scanned the room in search of Hugo. She'd barely seen him all evening, and he'd been quiet when she had. Giving up on finding him herself, she walked over to where her dad was talking to Louis and her uncle Bill.

"Any of you seen Hugo?" she asked.

"He went outside," said Louis with a nod towards the back door.

Rose didn't wait around to ask the question on the tip of her tongue. Louis had looked worried, but then again, they'd all been worried for weeks now. She passed by the group behind the couch, exchanging an involuntary glance with Lily, whose expression was similar to Louis' but held more longing.

As she stepped out onto the porch, Rose shook off thoughts of every other member of her family as she approached her brother. Her focus right now was Hugo. Pretty soon, she wouldn't be able to spend time with him, and any opportunity to be there for him would be significantly less frequent.

"Kind of hard to believe you're not going back," said Hugo, his gaze almost sorrowful as he looked out towards the orchard behind the Burrow. Rose was surprised to find tears in her eyes as she stepped closer to her brother, placing her arm around his waist and resting her head against his shoulder as he put his arm around her.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked. Hugo shrugged.

"You've had that worried look on your face every time you've looked at me all night," he said. "Figured it was only a matter of time before you made your move."

Rose smiled. "And did you come out here so I'd have a chance to corner you?"

Hugo scoffed. "Course not"

Rose just continued grinning. "I can't believe I'm actually going to miss you," she said, and felt Hugo chuckle.

"I'll miss you too," he said. "All that reminding me to do my homework and interfering with my personal life."

He squirmed as Rose dug her fingers into his side, but made sure he didn't pull away from her.

"Well, seeing as you'll miss it so much, are you going to let me pry one last time?"

Hugo let out a sigh, and she let him pull away. He sat on the porch, his legs dangling over the side and his feet grazing the grass. Rose joined him, her own feet only reaching to midway down her brother's calf. He'd gotten even taller over the summer.

"I think I'm finally at a place where I actually believe things will be okay," he said slowly. Rose just waited patiently for him to continue, swinging her feet and listening to the chirping crickets. It took a few moments, but he eventually did, and his words surprised her.

"Was I wrong?" he asked softly. "I know I handled things poorly, which might even be an understatement, but to even be upset with her in the first place. Did I blow things completely out of proportion?"

Rose sighed, wishing she had a simple answer for her brother.

"I think," she began, "that our emotions can cause us to not see things clearly. But I also think that if you truly were as hurt by everything as you seemed, something wasn't right. How we feel might not tell the complete truth about our actual circumstances, but that doesn't make them any less true or valid. You can't really help how you feel."

Hugo nodded, seeming comforted by her words.

"I also think," Rose continued hesitantly, "that sometimes, our anger or hurt doesn't even really have to do with the person who wronged us."

Hugo gave her a skeptical look. "Huh?"

"Okay, so, do you remember last summer?" Rose asked. "When we went to Malfoy Manor?"

Hugo nodded.

"So, I could tell something was going on with Mum and Dad and Scorp's family, and when I asked him about it, he wouldn't tell me. Said it wasn't his place and that it would change our friendship if I knew. I got so mad at him for it, accused him of not trusting me and didn't talk to him until the day we played Quidditch. We eventually got past it, but I realized much later that the real problem was my insecurities about our friendship and that I hated not knowing something and being kept in the dark. It really wasn't his place to tell me and it wasn't his fault that my feelings for him were messing with my head, but the easiest thing to do was be angry with him for all the things I was feeling, when none of them were even really his fault."

She watched her brother carefully, growing uneasy as he simply stared out into the fields. It had always been a personal struggle of hers to actually let silence play a role in conversation.

"I mean, sometimes people really do terrible things to hurt us," she couldn't help but continue, "and I don't blame you at all for being upset with Lily, but if you're still holding onto any anger, maybe it's not just about her anymore."

A slight breeze blew through and laughter floated out through the screen door behind them. And then Hugo sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"You're probably right," he admitted. "But I don't think it's really a question of anger anymore. I just don't know if I trust her right now."

"Trust her how?"

"To actually mean it if she apologizes," he said with a shrug. "To actually try to do better next time. To actually be there for me. I mean, the one time she tried to patch things up, she was all about just shoving it under the rug and pretending nothing had happened. Who's to say she won't try to do the same thing again?"

Rose leaned her head against her brother's shoulder, trying to imagine how much this whole thing was hurting him. "Sometimes you just have to have faith in people, you know? They might not always deserve it, but if she'd proved herself, you wouldn't need faith, would you?"

Hugo gave a humorless chuckle. "I should've known better than to talk to you about this."

Rose sat up and looked at her brother, a bit hurt until she saw him smiling at her.

"You're always right."

A burst of laughter escaped Rose, and she scooted closer to her brother, linked her arm through his, and leaned her head against his shoulder once more. "Thanks, but if I've learned anything over the last year, it's how incorrect that statement is."

They lapsed into silence, sitting there, lost in their own thoughts, and enjoying the feeling of being effortlessly loved by someone. She'd seen sibling relationships where it was very difficult to see any type of close bond. She was thankful she didn't have to look too far to know her brother cared about her.

And with everything else in her life completely draining her of energy, it was nice to have a quiet moment of peace.

Even if it was ruined only a few moments later.

"Hey," Scorpius said as he stuck his head out. "Sorry to interrupt, but did Erin say anything to you about skipping out on tonight?"

Rose shook her head as she turned to face him. "Last I heard, she said she was coming. Is she not here yet?"

Scorpius shook his head before briefly glancing back into the house. "Al's getting a bit agitated about it and talking about heading to yours to see if she's there."

Rose stood with a sigh, using Hugo's shoulder to help pull herself to her feet. She paused with her hand still on his shoulder and looked down at her brother. "You going to be all right?"

Hugo nodded and gave her a small smile and a nod, giving her the assurance that she wasn't abandoning him in a time of need. She gave Scorpius an amused smile as she approached him, resting her hand against his chest and going up on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"She's probably just caught up at work," she said with a roll of her eyes. "It's been happening more often lately."

Scorpius let out a chuckle, winding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her back into the house with him. "I'll check in at the Manor," he said. "If she's not deep in a potion, she's probably at your flat getting ready to head here right now."

They were approached by Al almost as soon as they entered the house, and he was quickly told the plan.

"Right, great," said Al with a sigh of relief as Scorpius headed towards the fireplace. "I'm probably overreacting," he admitted to Rose. "She has been staying later at the lab recently."

Rose smiled at her cousin, though he was too busy staring at where Scorpius had just disappeared through the fire to notice. She was very aware of the fact that he hadn't seen Erin much the past few weeks, since her best friend had indeed been spending more time in her potions lab now that she was starting to get the hang of things at work. He was probably anxious to see her.

"I think Hugo and Lily will work things out soon," she said, trying to find something to distract him with. "He seems anxious for things to be fixed, and Lily's finally got her head on straight from what I've heard. Dom was just telling me the other day that she's made things right with Lou as well as Lucy."

Al said nothing, merely nodded absentmindedly and continued to look towards the fire.

"Something's not right," he said suddenly, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he continued to stare at the fireplace. Rose couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"You're just being paranoid," she assured him. "All those cases you've been reading up on probably clouding your rational thinking."

Al gave a snort of amusement and finally turned to face his cousin. "I'm being trained to read the signs and be paranoid when there's good reason to be paranoid."

"So her just being late is enough for you?" Rose asked skeptically. "I've always been more of a worrier than you and even I'm not concerned."

Al just shrugged and turned back to look at the fire.

"Look, do you want me to just go ahead and check our flat?" Rose said with a sigh after a few moments of impatient waiting. "Would that make you feel better?"

Al shot Rose a look at her exasperated tone.

"Al," she said slowly, "you're worrying over-"

She stopped short and the whole room fell silent when a patronus in the shape of a cheetah leapt through the still open back door, coming to a stop in front of her uncle Harry, who was standing by the kitchen with her dad. Rose noted how immediate the change from relaxed to on-guard their expressions took just before the patronus' message reached her ears.

"_Another break in. Malfoy Manor. Potential witness unconscious and injured trainee to be taken to St. Mungo's. Report to Ministry immediately."_

* * *

**A/N: Well, things have taken quite the serious turn. Sorry for the cliffhanger! I'll work on getting you an update ASAP. But it would be great if you review in the meantime.**


	15. We may lose and we may win

_Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. _

They were the only words running through his mind. That he would _allow_ to run through his mind.

Repeating the mantra wasn't exactly accomplishing his goal of not panicking, but it was at least keeping his mind from running through every single possible disastrous scenario.

She was unconscious. For how long? What curses had been used on her? What if she had any brain damage? How bad would it be? How bad _could _it be? When she eventually woke up, would she remember what had happened? Would she remember him? Would she remember anything?

Would she even wake up at all?

_Don't panic. Don't panic. Do. Not. Panic. _

"Oh, would you shut up, please?!" someone snapped, pulling him out of his shock induced focus. Al nearly stumbled in his pacing, glancing around before his eyes landed on Rose, fear and frustration pouring off of her as she sat next to her dad.

At least they knew Scorpius was awake. That was the only positive Al was capable of seeing.

They'd arrived at St. Mungo's almost an hour ago. Before the patronus had even fully vanished, Harry had sprung into action, barking orders at Al's uncles and aunts to reinforce the wards around the Burrow as a precaution and to stay put until he'd made sure their own homes weren't disturbed. His next action had been to grab Al by the shoulder and steer him into the corner, his fierce gaze quelling any type of demand to come with him that Al had been about to make. At least momentarily.

"I need you to stay here and keep an eye out, all right?" said Harry, his words allowing no argument. "You've only been on the job for a month, but that's more experience than most of the people in this room have, and I can't bring you with me either."

"Dad, please-"

"Son, I'm sorry," said Harry, truly looking it as his hand came up to grip the back of Al's neck. "I'll let you know as soon as I feel everyone is okay to go home, and then you and Rose and Ethan and whoever else can head straight to Mungo's."

He said this with a nod towards someone behind Al, and he knew his cousin and Erin's brother both had to be watching them with wide eyed panic. Al was barely keeping from feeling the same, but not only did he know he had to trust his dad, he had to respect his superior. No matter how much it was the last thing he wanted to do.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and nodded, receiving a clap on the shoulder and a "thank you" from his dad. He opened his eyes to see that Hermione, Teddy, and Percy were heading out the door, his dad hot on their heels, but stopping to give what looked like a very similar speech to Ethan. Ron was standing nearby with a fierce look in his eyes. When Harry finally turned to leave, he shared a glance with his best friend, who nodded and gripped Ethan's shoulder as the door shut behind Harry.

They only had to wait half an hour before word was brought that they could all return to their homes, but that was the last place Al wanted to go, and he wasn't the only one.

So now he stood pacing in the waiting room for the Spell Damage Ward, completely forgetting that he wasn't the only one there. And talking out loud, apparently.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from destroying his nails. Or pulling his hair out. Or taking out his wand to curse something. Or someone.

Like his best friend's dad.

The Malfoys were already there when Al had arrived with Rose, her dad and brother, and Ethan and Molly in tow. His mum had gone with Lily to alert Neville and Hannah, who'd shown up a little while ago. He wondered briefly if they'd contacted Alice.

This shouldn't have been allowed to happen in the first place, Al couldn't help thinking. Malfoy Manor was the type of ancient wizarding home that should have had an immeasurable amount of protection around it. So how had someone managed to get in, raid the place, and attack his girlfriend and his best friend in the process?

Was Draco Malfoy a completely incompetent idiot?

Al did his best to keep from throwing glares at the man, who looked a little paler than normal, his face pinched with worry and his knee bouncing up and down as he constantly shifted in his seat. In contrast, his wife was quite still, her hands folded what might be mistaken as serenely in her lap as she stared straight ahead, unseeing. But Al could see how white her knuckles were, her fingers wound tightly together.

"Hey," a voice said just behind Al, accompanied by a hand on his shoulder that nearly made him jump out of his skin. He turned to see the concerned gaze of his older brother, who was accompanied by Violet, Malcolm, and a terrified looking Alice.

"No news," Al said quickly. "We haven't been told a bloody thing since we got here."

Malcolm gave a nod before leading Alice over to her parents and brother and Molly, who'd all been waiting in scared silence the entire time. No one had really been talking to anyone, with one exception.

The only moment Al had taken note of anything other than his desire to keep from panicking, had been when his mum and sister had shown up with the Longbottoms. To his surprise, Lily had walked straight over to the unoccupied seat next to Hugo, sat down, and immediately started talking to him in a very soft undertone. Hugo had looked guarded for only a moment, some of the tension he'd been carrying for months leaving him as he listened and responded to his cousin. They were still quietly talking now, and Al would guess they hadn't stopped since she'd gotten there.

At least one good thing seemed to be coming from this disaster of a night.

"I'll see what I can find out, okay?" said Violet, and Al let out a sigh of relief, nodding at her gratefully before she walked away. He'd nearly forgotten she was a Healer.

"What about Scorpius?" asked James.

"He's-"

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?"

Al spun around, spotting the Healer that stood at the end of the hall leading to the ward as Draco and Astoria stood. He couldn't make out what the Healer was saying as the Malfoys reached him and he began to lead him back towards their son. It wasn't until James gripped his arm that Al realized he'd made to follow.

"You should have a seat, mate," James said soothingly while Al continued to stare after the Malfoys. "You look like shit."

Al whipped his head around to face his brother. "You would too if your best friend _and _your girlfriend wound up in the hospital on the same fucking night," he snapped.

"I know," James said placatingly, moving his hand to grip Al's shoulder, "but you look like you're about to pass out, so can you please sit?"

It took a great deal of effort, but Al let his brother lead him to two empty seats, which were mercifully a good distance from everyone else. He didn't realize until he sat just how tense he was. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy sigh as he rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands, his fingers running through his hair as he gazed at the tiled floor.

And then it became all too clear why he hadn't let himself pause to take a breath.

His second exhale came out with a shudder, and there was nothing he could do to stop the tears filling his eyes or the way his body began to shake as he completely broke down.

Al barely noticed James' hand on his shoulder. He could do nothing but let the shock and fear that he'd been suppressing overtake him.

"Shit," he hissed out through his tears, his hands gripping his hair painfully. He needed to feel something else. Anything other than this terrible fear and overwhelming anger. She should've been safe. There was absolutely no reason why she shouldn't have been safe. Malfoy Manor should have been impenetrable, with wards set up to keep people out unless they were given direct access. His parents' home was like that, the Burrow was like that. Just about every home he spent time in while growing up was like that.

So why not Malfoy bloody Manor?

"Al," he heard James whisper in his ear, but he didn't acknowledge his brother until he gently shook him by the shoulder. He glanced up just in time to see Neville standing to approach his dad, who he definitely hadn't expected to see anytime soon.

Al was on his feet and moving towards them in an instant, and he felt his resolve and determination to not be brushed aside once again overtaking everything else.

"How the hell did someone get inside Malfoy Manor?" Al hissed out as quietly as possible when he reached his father. Harry paused in whatever he'd been saying to Neville to let out a sigh and turn to his son.

"As I was telling Neville, that's what I came to find out," he confessed. "The wards at the Manor are… not as thorough as I would've expected."

"Why the hell not?" Al asked in outrage.

"I said that's what I came to find out," Harry said placatingly, placing a hand on Al's shoulder that was quickly shrugged off. Harry let out an impatient sigh and turned back to Neville. "Do you know where Draco is?"

"They just called them back," said Neville with a gesture towards the ward. Harry nodded, moving to head that way himself, but stopping to place a reassuring hand on his friend's arm.

"Any news?" he asked softly. Neville shook his head, and Harry gave his arm a comforting squeeze before walking away. Al knew he should probably say something to Neville, but he couldn't bring himself to let his mind go back to Erin, so he didn't even hesitate to follow his dad.

"I'm coming with you," he said, his tone as firm as he could make it. Harry didn't even glance his way as he sighed and responded.

"You need to stay calm, okay? And you're letting me do the talking."

Al nodded, knowing it would be a challenge but not wanting to argue and jeopardize his ability to be in the room. They paused to ask a Healer to show them to Scorpius' room, the witch quick to direct them after glancing at his dad's scar and asking no questions. Al was about to charge in when his dad stopped him with a hand on his arm. The stern exterior of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement flickered away, and Al saw concern worrying his father's brow.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked, his eyes roving over his son's face. Al was quick to vigorously rub at his eyes, hoping to erase any sign that he'd been in tears just minutes ago.

"I'm fine," he assured him, dropping his hand and popping his knuckles in agitation. "Let's just do this, okay?"

Harry nodded, still looking a bit skeptical. "I can't have you losing your cool in there. You sure you can stay focused?"

Al nodded. "I have to."

His dad seemed to understand his unspoken words. If he wasn't focused on this, his mind would go somewhere else. And that couldn't happen yet.

A sigh of relief left Al as he entered the room to find his best friend sitting up on the hospital bed, his legs dangling over the side and only looking a little worse for wear. As soon as he saw Al and Harry, Scorpius looked between them both in concern.

"How's Erin?" he asked, his gaze focusing in on Al and probably noting the redness of his eyes.

"Don't know yet," said Al, forcefully not thinking about his girlfriend and walking right over to his best friend, laying a hand on his shoulder and noting the yellow bruising of his jaw and cheekbone. "Glad you're all right, mate."

"Didn't see it coming, really," said Scorpius, reaching up to gingerly touch his jaw. "Got the drop on me as soon as I arrived. Didn't knock me out completely, but they were gone by the time I could make sense of anything. I immediately sent word to the Ministry when I saw Erin unconscious on the floor and the place ransacked, but whoever did this was well on their way by then. The Healers just checked me out as a precaution, but it looks like the only thing they did was land a well-aimed hit."

Al nodded, wanting to hurl his questions at Draco but choosing to look pointedly at his dad instead. But Harry was already focused in on the older Malfoy, who was standing by his wife as she sat in a chair next to her son's hospital bed.

"You were both out for the evening?" he asked. Draco and his wife both nodded.

"We were having dinner in town with some friends," said Astoria. Harry gave a nod.

"We've had a look at the wards placed around Malfoy Manor," said Harry, his arms crossed and his professional severity back in place, "and while most basic protection and anti-Muggle charms seem to be present, it appears that your Floo restrictions are set to allow entrance to anyone who's ever had access to the Manor before, is that correct?"

Draco nodded, his hands shoved in his trouser pockets as he seemed to transition into a much more defensive stance. He faced Harry with a stern expression. "That's the Ministry standard."

"It's is," Harry agreed, "but I admit, I expected Malfoy Manor to be a bit more impenetrable. Did you at least have it reset?"

It took a moment for Al to comprehend the weight that his father's question carried, but once he did, he could have sworn a chill descended upon the room as he and Scorpius both focused their attention on Draco with bated breath. But the older Malfoy seemed annoyed rather than concerned.

"No, Potter. I decided it would be fun to let my father's old Death Eater friends pop in whenever they wanted," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Yes, I bloody well reset them. We overhauled the whole thing once my father was in Azkaban and my mother and I were placed there under house arrest."

"I remember," Harry said with a nod. He grew a little uncertain a moment later and cast a quick glance at Scorpius. "I meant after the investigation into-"

"No, I didn't," Draco cut him off, growing agitated and shooting his own glance at Scorpius. "He was the only one who ever had access to the Manor, and he was cleared."

"We didn't have any proof either way, Malfoy," Harry argued back. "And you know that the particular ward you have up allows all those with access to grant it to others, which is, quite honestly, a little foolish to allow. I thought you'd been advised-"

"And I didn't find it necessary, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell me how to govern my own household," Draco snapped. "You war heroes see Slytherin and yell 'dark magic,' but it's not always the case, is it?"

"I know it's not," said Harry, doing his best to remain calm and pausing to take a deep breath. "But someone broke into your home, potentially stole things, and attacked a young woman _and _your son in the process. I'd appreciate less hostility and a little more cooperation."

The fight remained in Draco's eyes, but he took a calming breath as his wife reached out and laid a hand on his arm.

"I still don't see what all that has to do with any of this," said Astoria. "Even if he was somehow involved in everything back then, he wouldn't do something like this."

Harry shrugged and opened his mouth to respond, but Scorpius beat him to it.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell you're going on about?" he asked, glancing between his parents and Harry. Al felt his stomach drop. He knew exactly what they were talking about, and he knew how much it would destroy Scorpius if he knew.

"Are we sure-"

"Al," Harry interrupted, sending a warning look at his son before turning back to Draco. "Do you want to tell him?"

Draco was practically seething with anger. "There's nothing to tell, Potter."

Harry seemed torn for a moment, glancing between the father and son uncertainly before settling on Draco. "Any clues at all as to who could've done this, then?"

Draco kept his harsh gaze fixed on Harry, only answering with a jerking shake of his head. For a moment, Al thought his dad might press a little harder but, frustratingly for Al, he let it go.

"We've taken the liberty of resetting things," said Harry, "but I'd strongly advise you increase your security. Someone will be in touch if we have any further questions."

Both wizards exchanged curt nods, and Harry turned to Scorpius, still with a serious expression, but friendlier than the way he'd been looking at Draco.

"You said you were still conscious. Anything you can remember? Sounds? Smells? Voices?"

Scorpius closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration, his hand absentmindedly ghosting over his bruised jaw.

"I think there might've been three of them," he eventually said. "Unless some of them Flooed off together. I only caught one voice, but it didn't seem familiar or that distinctive. Probably from London, though. One of them had on some pretty strong aftershave or something, too. I'd probably recognize it if I got a whiff of it again."

Scorpius looked at Harry expectantly, as if asking if what he'd been able to remember was in any way helpful. Whether it would prove to be or not, Al could tell his dad was impressed that he'd retained as much as he had after taking a shot to the jaw. If the way he was staring a bit wide-eyed at Scorpius was any proof.

"Good to know," said Harry. "You'll be a little more formally debriefed back at the Ministry tomorrow, so rest up tonight."

Harry gave a nod in farewell and made to leave the room, only to be called back by Scorpius.

"Could you go ahead and send Rose back?" he asked a bit sheepishly. Harry gave him a small smile and a nod before leaving the room, and Scorpius immediately turned back to face his father.

"You going to tell me what's going on, or not?" he asked. Harry's questioning didn't seem to have been enough to distract Scorpius from what had gone unsaid, and his frustration over being kept in the dark was obvious in his voice. Draco sighed, not meeting his son's eyes as he answered.

"It's nothing," he said flippantly. "Just some wild goose chase Potter's been on about for years that's completely pointless."

Scorpius didn't look anywhere close to convinced. "Am I wrong to think the Head of the DMLE wouldn't bother with something that didn't hold any weight?"

"Potter isn't infallible, Scorpius," Draco drawled, and while Al was determined not to be the one to spill the truth to Scorpius, he couldn't keep quiet on the other issue at hand.

"Why is your security so relaxed?" he asked, doing his best to sound curious rather than accusatory. Draco looked into Al's inquisitive eyes for a few moments, still stiff and unyielding, before the fight seemed to leave him and he let out a sigh.

"I don't think I can begin to describe how frustrating it was to be under house arrest," Draco said as he sat on the arm of his wife's chair. "I know others have had it worse than me in life and I honestly got off easy, but not being able to go beyond the four walls of that house except to wander around only a portion of the grounds almost drove me mad. Especially in that house. It was a nightmare during the war, with Voldemort using it as his headquarters and all manner of horrifying people coming in and out. Not to mention the brutality I had to witness and occasionally participate in on multiple occasions. Whenever I wasn't at Hogwarts, I was trapped there, unable and not trusted to do anything or go anywhere after my failure during my sixth year. The place was a prison, and I swore I'd never let it be that again."

Throughout his confession, Draco had kept his eyes focused on the tile floor, but then he let out a deep sigh and looked at his son with an apologetic glimmer in his eyes.

"If my somewhat foolish way of going about ensuring that allowed this to happen, I'm sorry."

Scorpius nodded at his dad, a look of understanding and forgiveness on his face. But as much as Al wanted to understand, he couldn't be quite so forgiving.

Not while Erin was still lying unconscious in a hospital bed.

"And you're sure you don't know who could've done this?" asked Al, working excessively hard to not sound like he wanted to throttle the man. No matter how much he might seem repentant of his past. This had nothing to do with that and everything to do with the choices he'd made to land them where they were now.

In a hospital. Erin, unconscious.

"You're okay?"

The tentative sound of Rose's voice as she entered the room and hastily made her way to Scorpius was the only thing to stop Draco from responding to Al. But it didn't keep him from directing a harsh glare towards his son's best friend as Rose reached Scorpius, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly before pulling back to get a good look at his bruised face. Draco's eyes bore into Al's, changing from questioning to almost fearful before finally landing on threatening.

"We'll give you two a minute," Draco managed to say with a pleasant tone, and then he began to move swiftly from the room, Al hot on his heels and a confused Astoria in their wake. As soon as the door swung shut behind them, Draco had a privacy charm cast and Al was facing him with his arms crossed and in no mood to back down.

"You need to stay out of this, Potter," said Draco, pointing at Al threateningly as he stowed his wand.

"The hell I do!" Al snapped. "That's my best friend in there," he said with a gesture at the room behind him, "and that employee of yours that got attacked? That's my girlfriend. So you can piss off if you're about to tell me it's none of my business."

Draco softened a bit at the mention of Erin. "I _am _sorry that Miss Longbottom came to harm, but-"

"But what?" Al asked. "But your precious freedom meant too much to you? Do you realize how fucking selfish that is? Especially when Theo could very likely be the one behind all this and you could've done something to stop it? Scorpius would be ashamed of you if he knew."

"Albus," he barely heard Astoria admonish him, but they both ignored her disapproving glare.

"Whatever stories your father's spun for you," Draco said threateningly, "there's no need for you to go blabbering them to my son."

Al raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "He's not a child, Mr. Malfoy. Don't you think he deserves to know that his godfather was at least suspected of being involved in illegal activities?"

"It's not about whether or not he deserves anything," Draco argued back. "I just don't see the need to put any more strain on the already nearly nonexistent relationship my son has with his godfather, who happens to be one of the only men in his life he looks up to that isn't a part of your overbearing and self righteous family."

"My family cares about your son!" Albus yelled. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

The unclouded anger in Draco's eyes had Al finally fully believing all the stories he'd heard from his dad and uncle about what Draco had been like during his school days. But Al stood his ground as the former Death Eater stepped towards him, pointing threateningly at him once again.

"I don't have to explain myself to you. You have no bloody right to say anything to me about how I chose to conduct myself in regards to my son."

He knew he shouldn't say it. He would practically be asking for it. But he did it anyway.

"This whole cold, heartless, and stubborn thing," Al drawled, crossing his arms and arching a brow at the older wizard, "is that the way your Death Eater father raised _you_?"

If possible, Draco Malfoy turned even whiter than his already pale complexion, but Al barely had a moment to take it in.

"Draco, no!" Astoria yelled as her husband gripped the front of Al's shirt and shoved him up against the wall. Al was all set to shove him away and maybe attempt to land a good punch when a shout from down the hall made him freeze.

"Get your fucking hands off my nephew, Malfoy," Ron Weasley snarled as he stormed down the hall. Draco seemed frozen in shock, so Al took the opportunity to shove him back, probably a bit less forcefully than he would've done had his uncle not shown up. The action seemed to wake Draco up a bit, and he threw another glare at Al before facing his former school rival.

"Stay out of this, Weasley. It's none of your concern."

Ron continued to glare at Draco as he moved to stand between him and Al, his arms crossed and his previous career as an Auror glaringly apparent. "You're harassing a member of my family, Malfoy. I think that _is_ my concern."

Draco looked like he was itching to pull his wand, which was probably why Astoria approached him and rested a hand on his arm.

"It's not worth it, love," she said softly. "Scorpius is fine and in good hands and I'm not feeling all that well, so let's tell him goodbye and head home, okay?"

Almost all the fight seemed to drain from Draco as he looked down at his wife, concern replacing his anger. She gripped his arm and gave a reassuring smile before walking past Ron and Al and into Scorpius' room. As his eyes flickered between Al and Ron, a hardened look of anger overcame him once again.

"Tell your nephew," he hissed at Ron while glaring at Albus, "to never, _ever_, say another word to me about my father. Or my son."

Ron glanced questioningly over his shoulder at Al, who kept his eyes on Draco as he made to follow his wife. He only stopped to look at Al once he had his hand on the door.

"You have no right," he sneered. "And you have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

The door swung shut behind him as Ron turned and faced his nephew with a stern and penetrating stare. "What the hell did you say to him, Al?"

"He's insisting on keeping Scorpius in the dark with this whole Theo thing!" Al hissed vehemently. "He deserves to know, and his dad should be the one to tell him."

"Maybe," said Ron, now looking at Al in understanding, "but he doesn't _have _to be the one to tell him."

Al could hardly believe the suggestive look he was receiving from his uncle, but it was gone before he could be fully sure it was there.

"Good thing I came to see what all the yelling was about," said Ron. "And don't think I didn't see you dying to lay him out. Which you probably could have done very easily."

"Yeah," said Al, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head where it had made contact with the wall. "I think I might've gone a bit too far."

"Might've?" said Ron skeptically. "You couldn't have picked a worse person to provoke. Or a worse way to go about doing it. Did you really bring up his father?"

Al nodded before hesitantly saying, "May have uttered the words 'Death Eater' too."

"Al!" Ron chastised with wide eyes. "Even I know that's the worst bloody idea in the world."

"I know, all right?" Al snapped, his emotions feeling on the brink of snapping as well. "I know it was a shite and incredibly callous thing to do, but I can't bloody stand the fact that everything could fall completely apart at any fucking moment, and no one seems to care enough to do anything to stop that from happening! He's the reason the girl I love is lying in a hospital bed. And for all we know, she might not even wake up. There's no way in hell I'm about to let him get away with that!"

It wasn't until he felt them on his cheeks that Al realized there were tears in his eyes once again. He took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, his hands gripping his hair as he tried to calm down. He felt lightheaded, his body was heavy with the weight of it all. The room began to spin and he stumbled back, his back hitting the wall. His body shook as he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, pathetically weeping into his knees and wanting to just make it all stop.

He vaguely registered the door to Scorpius' room opening once again, signaling the Malfoy's departure. But he didn't look up, and he heard them walking away a moment later as his uncle joined him where he sat, his presence comforting, yet also causing shame and embarrassment to rise up in Al at how pathetic he probably seemed.

"You know," said Ron in a soft and contemplative voice, "during the war, we almost lost Hermione."

Al sniffed, his tears somewhat more under control as he glanced questioningly at his uncle.

"Did your dad ever tell you about when we ended up at Malfoy Manor?" asked Ron.

Al nodded, wondering how this was helping.

"Draco Malfoy stood there and watched while your aunt was tortured," said Ron, his tone slightly resentful. "Didn't do a thing to stop it. And for a very long time, all I could do was blame him for the fact that I almost lost the girl I love."

His statement sat there between them for a few silent moments, the usual sounds that came with a hospital registering in Al's ears for the first time amidst the deafening silence.

"But Malfoy has this uncanny ability to get the world to shoulder the blame for what he's done," Ron eventually continued. "Or what he _hasn't_ done, more like. I'm not saying there isn't truth to the fact that Draco was a victim of his circumstances, but he did make his own choices. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could forgive him for the decisions he made and see that he didn't think he had any other choice. Even though he did. It probably would've cost him his life, but he did."

"So what?" Al questioned. "Are you saying I should just forgive him too? When he's made another stupid decision and it's wound up hurting someone that I love?"

"Not exactly," said Ron. "I'm just saying that I know what it feels like to hate him too.

Al managed a rough chuckle at his uncle's frankness. Ron had always been his favorite uncle, and not just because he was a laugh at parties and one hell of a threat with a wand. Out of all his family members, Al felt like Ron understood him the most. His mother had told him on numerous occasions - and in frustration - that Al reminded her of her closest brother. Whether it was his stubbornness or his temper or his ability to put away more than a decent amount of food - something all three Potter children shared - and it always left Al with a sense of pride. He had a feeling he was going to turn into an Auror that looked a lot more like Ron Weasley than Harry Potter.

Al sat there with his uncle for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, his head resting against the wall and his arms resting on his knees. He barely paid any mind to the Healers walking by, until one of them made to pass them again, but this time with a few familiar faces in tow.

Al was on his feet in an instant, staring wide eyed and anxiously at the Longbottoms. The fear he'd seen before was still slightly there, but he could now see something else as well. Hope.

It was Neville who spotted him and Ron first, and he gave them a relieved smile.

"She's awake!"

* * *

**A/N: I know it's been a while! Sorry to keep you waiting on a cliffhanger before, and now I've sort of done it again. But keep the reviews coming! I will try to be quicker about the next chapter. It's already written, but I like to keep a certain amount ahead which makes me slow to update sometimes.**


	16. These precious words keep me hanging on

It had been the longest, most excruciating two hours of Rose's life.

When the patronus dissolved into silvery wisps of air, her heart had lodged in her throat as her stomach ended up somewhere near her feet. She'd stayed in a state of panic as they waited to be allowed to go to the hospital, and then still as she sat there and watched her cousin's frantic pacing.

It had slightly calmed her when the Malfoys were allowed to go back to see their son, but she grew antsier with every minute they were gone. She'd nearly gotten up to follow when Harry and Al had made their way back to his room as well, but stopped at the feel of her dad's hand on her knee.

"You might want to give them a minute," he said, his tone soft and his eyes apologetic.

"Why?" asked Rose. Her dad shrugged.

"Harry's still in Auror mode, so I'm willing to bet he's got some questions for Malfoy," he explained. "I know I would."

Rose sighed in frustration and sat back in her seat. And it was an excruciatingly long ten minutes later when her uncle came out, offered her a soft smile, and said Scorpius was asking for her.

"How is he?" Rose asked as she approached her uncle.

"Trust me, I've seen much worse," said Harry with a reassuring smile. "Just took a nice shot to the jaw. Now quit dawdling and go fuss over him."

Rose felt herself smiling for the first time in hours, pausing only to give her uncle a grateful hug before hurrying down the hall. She had to stop and collect herself a bit outside his door, but the moment she'd pushed it open and saw Scorpius sitting there, looking as resilient as ever, nothing was going to stop her from running into his arms as soon as humanly possible.

His eyes lit up at the sound of her voice, and he smiled a bit crookedly as he welcomed her into his embrace. Rose briefly registered his parents and her cousin excusing themselves from the room as she pulled away to examine his face. His jaw and cheekbone were a mix of yellow and purple and slightly swollen, which explained his inability to smile fully.

"Does it hurt?" she asked softly, her fingers barely grazing his jaw as she stood between his legs.

"They gave me something for the pain," he said, mumbling slightly due to the swelling. "It should be all healed up in a couple of days."

Rose nodded, her gaze moving from his jaw to his eyes, which were drinking her in as a smile played at his lips.

"What?" she asked, noting the way his hands hadn't strayed from her waist as she rested her own against his chest.

"I was just remembering my last Quidditch match," he said with a hint of amusement. Rose gave him an incredulous look. "The Hospital Wing visit you paid me afterward, more specifically."

Rose blinked at him in surprise. "You mean when I broke down in tears because I was so worried about you?" she asked pointedly. Scorpius' expression turned guilty.

"Well, I wasn't thinking about _that _part," he admitted. "I suppose it would be best if we stop meeting like this."

His attempt to be light-hearted worked, but only slightly. Rose was still coming out of the terror that had set in the moment she'd been made aware Scorpius had been injured. It had been her greatest fear from the moment she'd learned Scorpius wanted to be an Auror. And he'd barely even been one for a month.

"I was really worried about you," she admitted in a whisper, her words unable to come out any stronger. She sunk further into him as his hands moved to her back, pulling her close and allowing her to rest her head on his chest.

"I'm fine," Scorpius assured her as he kissed the top of her head. "You've got no reason to worry."

His words caused a sinking feeling in Rose's stomach. As far as she was concerned, she had every reason to be worried.

"You don't know that," she said, her voice coming out strained. "You _can't _know that."

Tears began to form in Rose's eyes, completely against her will. This part wasn't supposed to happen yet. She was supposed to have months and even years to get used to the idea of him being in danger. Apparently, she wasn't going to be granted that luxury.

"Hey," said Scorpius, his tone soothing but holding a slight amount of alarm as he pulled her away from him, his hands moving up to her shoulders and then cupping her face to get her to look up at him. "What happened today," he said with a furrowed brow, "that had nothing to do with me training to be an Auror, okay? Even if I'd chosen to be a Healer or a baker, it probably still would've happened. You know that, right?"

Rose let out a shaky breath and nodded, her watery eyes causing her to sniffle a bit as she averted her gaze from his penetrating stare.

"Yes," she said softly. "But you can't expect my mind not to go to the worst possible scenario or for me to be all calm and collected when a lot worse could've happened. And probably _will _happen in the future. You were attacked in your family's own home, Scorpius," she said imploringly as she met his eyes once again. "What if someone's after your family? What if something happens again?"

Rose was having trouble catching her breath as fear and anxiety overtook her. She barely registered the concern in Scorpius' eyes as her hands grew shaky and her eyes welled with tears. And then warmth and darkness overtook her, allowing her to finally take a deep breath, her hands gripping the front of Scorpius' shirt. It was only then that she realized the warmth and the darkness came from his embrace as he held her tight against his chest, his arms encircling her, his hands soothingly stroking her back as he cradled her and kept her warm and safe.

"I'm sorry," she eventually said in a muffled voice, calmed by the feel of his strong arms and the sound of his beating heart. He squeezed her a little tighter in response.

"Is it always going to be this hard for you?" he asked, his tone soft but worried. "When something happens to me?"

Rose pulled back so she could look up at him, her jaw clenched and eyes fierce. "That's the point," she said. "_When _something happens to you. And it won't be just once or twice but too many times to count. I've seen it all before and lived through it going almost as bad as it could possibly go. So I don't see it getting any easier for me, no."

It was obvious Scorpius was distressed by her words, but she couldn't take them back. She couldn't tell him it didn't matter and that she wouldn't be worried about him. He wouldn't have believed her anyway.

"All right," he said, his brow furrowed and his eyes focused somewhere around her chin as he soothingly ran his hands up and down her arms. "All right, so, do you still…"

He trailed off, now seeming very on edge as his hands moved to shakily hold both of hers. But before he could finish his question, they were both distracted by the sound of the door swinging open behind Rose.

"Sorry if we're interrupting," Astoria said as she approached them, though she was either unaware or ignored the fact that she really was interrupting. And it was the first time Rose ever suspected that Astoria Malfoy was anything other than perfectly healthy. Her already fair complexion now appeared pale, and she didn't seem quite as steady on her feet.

"You're fine," said Scorpius, who was watching his mother in concern as his father entered the room.

"We're heading home," the older Malfoy said, obviously in an off mood himself as he spoke to his son. He looked quite disgruntled, actually. "Unless you need anything else?" he asked. "I'm sure Miss Weasley can more than look after you."

Rose willed herself to not begin rambling awkwardly at Draco's implication. Were they really at a point in life where their parents didn't feel the need to hover and take care of them at the slightest cause of worry? Was she now the person who was assumed would be there for Scorpius when he needed taking care of?

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Scorpius assured his parents, acting completely at ease and reaching out to hold Rose's hand. She turned to look at him, returning his soft smile.

"Let us know when Erin wakes up, will you?" asked Astoria, seeming to grow a bit more unsteady by the second. "Her family should be the ones with her, but I can't help feeling concerned and responsible since all this happened in our home."

Scorpius nodded, accepting a hug and a kiss on the cheek from his mother. "We will. Do you know if they've heard anything?"

Draco shook his head, placing a hand on his son's shoulder and wishing him farewell. He didn't seem entirely present, and Rose could tell Scorpius noticed it as well. But his thoughts were more focused on his mother.

"You all right, Mum?" he asked as she stepped away from him and gripped his father's arm to steady herself.

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him with a shaky smile. "Just a little rundown. Floo if you need anything?"

Scorpius nodded, asking her to do the same. Astoria simply rolled her eyes and patted him on the cheek, and then she and Draco were walking out of the room once again.

"That's the first time I've really noticed," said Scorpius, his voice soft as he watched the door his parents had just gone through swing shut. Rose felt a pang somewhere in the region of her heart at the thought of Scorpius living in fear of his mother's health declining. She reached out so she was holding both of his hands once again, gripping in silent comfort. Scorpius turned to her, the soft smile he gave her only momentarily appearing on his lips. Rose's brow furrowed in concern when he looked down at their hands and let out a deep breath.

"Do you still want to do this?" he asked, his voice hesitant and a bit shaky.

"Do what?" asked Rose, momentarily confused by his question. But then she remembered the conversation they'd been having before they were interrupted and continued with a sense of rising dread and fear. "Are you talking about us?"

Scorpius sighed, dropping one of her hands to run his own over the uninjured side of his face. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do here," he admitted, dropping his hand back down to his lap. Rose was quick to grab it once again, which seemed to reassure him a bit. "I don't want you to be worried, but I can't promise you'll never have a reason to be either. I mean…do you want me to quit training or-"

"No!" Rose cut him off, and he finally met her eyes again. "I'd never ask you to do that."

"Then what _do _you want me to do, Rose?" he asked in distress and exasperation. "Because I hate seeing you like this, but I don't want you to ever feel like you have to walk away either."

"I'm not going to do that," she assured him, her voice taking on a softer quality as she gripped his hands tighter. "I'll just… have to figure out a way to not completely lose my head every time something happens to you."

Scorpius still looked skeptical. "You sure you can do that?"

Rose nodded, feeling a sense of resolve as she met his still hesitant eyes. Taking care of him was not only something she felt she was now supposed to do, but something she wanted to do. And she couldn't very well do that if she was falling apart in a panic anytime something happened to him. And she couldn't do it if they weren't together either.

"I once said that I'd rather be scared to lose you than be without you," she said with fierce determination, "and I meant that."

Finally seeming to be reassured, Scorpius gave Rose a soft smile, pulling her a bit closer and moving his hands to her waist again. "You're not going to lose me," he assured her. "There're a couple dozen other Aurors who're going to have my back out there. It's not like I'm going to be regularly running into danger on my own."

"Or ever, hopefully," she said with a pointed look. "And you're going to be more than capable of taking care of yourself too, because you're going to be a brilliant Auror."

Scorpius gave her a full smile. "You think so?"

Rose couldn't help returning his smile, her hands moving back to his chest but slowly making their way up so she could wind her arms around his neck. "I _know _so," she said, her tone slightly teasing but still sincere as she brushed her nose against his. Scorpius let out a sigh of contentment and rested his forehead against hers, his fingers pressing firmly into her back. It was heavenly, the feeling of being this close to him. And though Rose wanted to be closer still, she felt guilty for even thinking about snogging her boyfriend silly when her best friend was lying unconscious in a hospital bed down the hall.

"Do you think Erin will be okay?" she asked softly, her eyes falling closed as she focused her senses on feeling Scorpius' comforting presence. She felt him take a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh.

"I hope so," he said. his words barely more than a murmur. "I just wish I'd gotten there soon."

"That's not your fault," she was quick to pull back and assure him, her hands gripping his shoulders. "Even _I_ thought Al was being ridiculous for worrying."

Scorpius gave a hum, reluctantly agreeing as his eyes met hers. "Just makes things feel more real, you know?" he said.

"What does?"

"What happened," he said with a shrug. "All the bad and hard things about the world that we didn't really have to think about in school, it's all a lot closer now."

Rose sighed, moving even closer so she stood fully between his legs. "And you wonder why I worry."

Scorpius gave a soft snort of amusement. "That's fair, I guess. It's just that... we were kids not that long ago."

"And we've been thrown into the deep end a little faster than anticipated," Rose agreed. "So it's not easy to ignore that the world is scary and nothing is certain and anything could happen at any moment. I mean, Erin was simply doing her job - which isn't even a dangerous one - and something like this happens. Who's to say what we'll face tomorrow or the day after, you know?"

The whirring of her mind came to an abrupt halt when Scorpius leaned in and placed a slow, delicate kiss on her temple, lingering long enough for Rose to take a few deep breaths before he pulled back to look at her.

"Life isn't really that fun when you worry about all the 'what if's'," Scorpius said with a soft assurance. "Sometimes you just have to.. take a leap, have some faith, and face things when they happen."

Rose took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled. She was pleased when it didn't come out shakily.

"And in the meantime," Scorpius continued, pulling her a bit closer and causing Rose to open her eyes. She was surprised to see how sincere his gaze was. "We take advantage of the moments we get, all right?"

It was so simple and even cliche, but Scorpius' words simultaneously soothed and excited Rose. She knew she had a tendency to worry and stress and expect the worst, and Scorpius knew that too. The fact that he seemed to know exactly what to say to calm her and reassure her was making her fall even more in love with him

His warmth and his closeness became overwhelmingly prevalent to Rose, and she knew she wasn't imagining the tension and the pull they had toward each other. Keeping her eyes locked on his steely and intense gaze, she lifted one of her hands from his shoulders to brush lightly against his injured jaw.

"Are you in any pain or-?"

Her question was cut off when Scorpius answered in the form of melding his mouth against hers. Rose's breath caught in her throat, but she quickly relaxed into his familiar and comforting embrace. There was a sense of urgency to his kiss that she hadn't been expecting, and she responded eagerly, doing her best not to worry about his injured jaw as her hands wound into his hair and one of his began to trail up under the back of her shirt to lightly graze her skin. Rose shivered against him at his delicate touch and easily picked up on the slight smirk her reaction caused. Not wanting to be outdone, Rose pulled his lower lip between her teeth and gently bit down, unable to keep from grinning in triumph as Scorpius let out a gasp. Rather than throw him off, it only served to spur him on, and Rose tightened her grip on his hair as his palm flattened against her bare back and pulled her closer. At this point, the only way she could get any closer would be to crawl into his lap, which was an incredibly tempting idea.

It appeared her boyfriend was having very similar thoughts, because a moment later, he was guiding her up by her hips, easily assisting her in planting a knee on either side of him, all with their lips still locked in a passionate kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist as hers went around his neck. She buried her hands in his hair as he crushed her to his chest and kissed her still more fiercely, his tongue doing maddening things to her own.

She wanted to forget everything and stay like this forever. And maybe relieve him of his shirt. She could feel his heart beating against her own, and she wanted to feel more.

Any thought of pursuing this tempting idea was completely derailed by a very pointed cough coming from behind Rose. She froze momentarily before quickly detaching her mouth from Scorpius and whipping her head around. Her eyes widened and her pounding heart nearly stopped to see her father standing in the doorway, a furrowed brow and pursed lips adorning his face.

Rose nearly fell to the floor in her haste to climb off her boyfriend, but Scorpius caught her by the arm just in time. He stood as she steadied herself, but chose to stand almost completely behind her, his face pale and his grip on her arm a little too tight as he watched her father in trepidation.

The awkwardness in the room was thick and unavoidable. It wasn't like it was the first time her father had ever caught them showing affection, but this felt different. Rose didn't blame Scorpius for letting out an uncomfortable cough and rubbing at his neck as he failed to continue to hold her father's gaze. It had been a very intimate moment. Probably the most physically intimate moment they'd ever had.

Bloody hell. She'd been on top of him, hadn't she?

With a groan, Rose buried her face in her hands as her cheeks began to burn and her father continued to look between them as if waiting for an explanation.

"What is it, Dad?" Rose finally asked, her words mumbled as her face was still hidden behind her hands. She heard her father clear his throat, composing himself, and his tone came out much more calm than she'd been expecting.

"Erin's awake."

Rose's head flew up and her eyes widened in hope at her father's words. "Really?" she asked, not forgetting about their awkward situation but finding it far from important now. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know much else," said Ron, who was no longer shooting glares at Scorpius, but was still having trouble focusing on his daughter. "Al and her family just went back to see her."

Rose nodded as she walked towards her father, who opened the door and stepped back to allow her to walk through ahead of him. She was a few steps through the door when she realized she hadn't been followed. It was with a roll of her eyes that Rose leaned back against the wall just outside the now closed door that led to Scorpius' hospital room. Charging in there and begging her dad not to threaten her boyfriend would only make the situation more embarrassing.

It was less than a minute later that the door swung open and a confused looking Scorpius walked through, closing followed by Rose's dad.

"I'm going to go check in with your mum," Ron said to Rose, acting far more normal than she felt the situation warranted. "See if she needs anything and get her up to speed with things here."

"Okay," said Rose, a bit surprised by Scorpius grabbing her hand. Especially in her father's presence and after what he'd just witnessed.

"Let us know if anything else comes up, yeah?" said Ron, though his words were directed at Scorpius this time. Rose tried to not let her emotions show too clearly on her face as she looked at Scorpius in surprise, who nodded at her father. With that last assurance, Ron Weasley left his daughter and her boyfriend behind, heading out of the hospital.

"What did he say to you?" Rose asked her boyfriend as soon as her father was out of earshot. Scorpius shrugged, still looking confused as he started leading her down the hall.

"Well, he told me I better be treating you well, but also that he trusts me."

Rose's brow rose in surprise as they continued down the hall. "That's… that's not what I expected, actually."

Scorpius gave her a small smile, but despite the fact that this was a good development as far as her father was concerned, he still seemed unsettled.

"Was that all?" Rose asked, stopping outside Erin's hospital room. Scorpius sighed and stopped beside her, dropping her hand and glancing around the hallway as if trying to decide how much to tell her.

"He asked me about Theo," he said quickly, his hands in his pockets and his eyes avoiding hers as he nervously chewed at his lower lip.

"What do you mean?" asked Rose. "What did he ask?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Wanted to know if I'd heard from him or if I knew where he was."

An unsettled feeling began to grow in Rose's stomach. Her dad asking questions about Theo probably wasn't a good sign. "What did you say?"

"That I hadn't and that I don't," was Scorpius' quick response. "I just don't know why he'd ask…"

He trailed off, a contemplative look on his face. Rose barely caught it changing into one of confused realization before he quickly schooled his features, gave her another shrug, and said it probably wasn't a big deal.

But as he knocked softly on the door and slowly began to open it, Rose had a feeling that it was definitely more of a deal than Scorpius said it was. And that he knew it too.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging once again when it comes to Erin! i actually got a good chunk written the other day as I find myself with more time on my hands. Hopefully this means you'll be hearing more from me! I've received some lovey responses lately and I wanted to say thank you! I'd greatly appreciate it if you kept those coming. Hope you're all doing well and staying safe!**


	17. Show me a sign

She felt a heaviness unfamiliar and undefinable. That was the first thing she was conscious of.

The fact that it was her head that carried this heaviness was the second thing she observed. After doing her best to use her sluggish brain to take inventory of the rest of her body, she found herself to be otherwise intact, if a bit cold under what appeared to be soft yet thin bedding.

She gave an experimental flexing of her toes and fingers, which was when she realized both the third and fourth things since regaining a hazy consciousness. First, that there were other people in the room as the murmurings she'd not yet registered became apparent as they heightened. And secondly, that someone was holding her hand.

The heaviness of her head made it difficult to focus on anything, and the task of opening her eyes seemed impossible. She managed to flex her hand again, a soft one tightening around her own. And she was finally able to make out a word.

"Erin?"

_Yes, _she thought. _That's me, isn't it? _It wasn't that she'd forgotten. More like she hadn't had time to think about it yet. And even though she recognized the voice calling her name, she couldn't quite figure out who it was.

"Erin, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand again."

Well, that was easy enough. It was her head giving her the issues after all. But the moment she complied, the dull ache and the heaviness encompassing her skull made way for a sharp pain, as if something sharp had shot straight between her eyes.

With a gasp and a moan of agony, Erin's body nearly curled in on itself, distantly making her aware of the fact that she seemed to be wearing a simple smock, which meant she was probably in the hospital.

If that was the case, why hadn't they taken away this god-awful pain?

"Deep breaths, Erin. Deep breaths," the familiar voice said in a soothing tone, continuing to hold her hand and grip it in a way that helped ground her. "It'll pass, just breathe."

Realizing she was in fact holding her breath, Erin struggled to let it out, feeling some of the pressure in her head lessen as she inhaled deeply a moment later.

"Okay," said the soothing voice as her breathing grew more controlled. And the combined facts of a feminine voice, a Healer's instinct, and the fact that they were likely in St. Mungo's and that this person knew her allowed Erin to piece together who was hovering over her.

"Can you open your eyes?" Violet Finnigan asked, one hand moving to the pulse in Erin's wrist while she used the other to check the one in her neck. "You're probably going to be pretty foggy for a bit so don't force yourself to talk if it's too difficult, but I'd like to check your eyes, okay? Think you can get them open?"

Erin wanted to be annoyed with how slowly Violet was speaking, as if she was incapable of comprehending perfect English. Then again, she was barely able to process the Healer's words, so she should probably be grateful for it. What had she asked her to do again?

"Come on, Erin," Violet coaxed as Erin continued her steady breathing. "Think you can look at me?"

It took far more effort than she felt she'd ever used before, but slowly, Erin's heavy eyes cracked open, only to flutter shut again a moment later due to the bright light. With Violet's encouragement, she managed to try again, this time squinting up at the Healer as she stood over her, her brow furrowed as she looked into Erin's eyes. Violet searched them for a moment, before apologetically warning Erin about the bright light that was about to be shined in her eyes. The sharp pain hit her head once again as the wand light shone, and Violet had to keep Erin's eyes open as she resisted curling in on herself, but she still let out a gasp of pain as her muscles clenched in protest.

"Okay, you're okay," Violet said soothingly, letting Erin close her eyes again as the pain abated. "You got hit with a couple of nasty spells so you're probably going to be in some pain for a while, but we're doing what we can to hurry things along. It looks like you took two to the head at the same time."

Erin groaned, her pain thankfully lessened enough that she found the strength to try opening her eyes again. It took a moment and a lot of determination on her part, but she saw Violet smiling at her when her eyes finally adjusted to the light.

"You've only been out for a few hours, so that's a good sign," she said, holding up her finger and requesting Erin follow it with her eyes. "Your brain was showing some very sluggish activity when they brought you in, but all your other vitals look good and your brain activity's been improving by the minute. So all good signs."

Erin mustered the strength to give a slight nod, wanting to communicate that she understood. But her head barely moved against the pillow, and she was still finding it difficult to retain things. She couldn't even remember how she got there in the first place.

"So, you remember anything?" Violet asked, taking a chart from another Healer in the room and making a few notes on it. "I think the Aurors are going to talk to you once you're up for it, but it would be good to start flexing your memory as soon as possible."

Aurors? Was she in trouble? Had anyone else been involved? What the bloody hell had happened?

Slightly terrified, Erin stared at Violet, horrified as tears welled in her eyes. Violet handed the chart back to the other Healer and sat on the edge of Erin's bed, holding her hand and looking at her with a calm and concerned sympathy that was surprisingly comforting to Erin.

"I know this is scary," she said, speaking so softly that the other occupants of the room probably couldn't hear her. "But the only thing I want you to worry about is making sure you take care of yourself, okay? They'll figure out what happened and who's responsible, but as your self-appointed Healer, I forbid you from concerning yourself with that. Especially while your head is in such a state. It needs to rest."

Erin let out a sigh of relief, thankful that she wasn't in any trouble, but also terrified by the thought that something had happened to her and she couldn't remember one bit of it. It made her feel like a small child, lost and in need of someone to guide and take care of her.

"Mmm…" she managed to force out, finding that her brain was having difficulty communicating with itself. Violet squeezed her hand encouragingly and she tried again. "Mmm...Mmmum?"

Violet smiled at her. "Your family is outside. So are a lot of other people. Do you want to see them?"

Right now, all she really wanted was her mum, but didn't see that going down well with her father and siblings. She gripped Violet's hand in confirmation, and the Healer made to stand, but Erin refused to loosen her grip, causing Violet to give her a reassuring smile, maintain her place beside her, and request one of the other Healers see to retrieving her family.

"We didn't want to let them in until we knew what type of state your brain was in," Violet explained. "It would've been more difficult to assess you if they'd been hovering."

Erin closed her eyes and swallowed, her mouth dry and anxious to communicate fully with her brain. Her mind was working a bit more properly than it had been when she first woke up and she had so many questions. But she didn't think she had the strength yet to ask, let alone hear the answers.

Violet continued to check her over, asking her to move in certain ways and if there was any pain other than her head. Her neck was stiff and she could barely move her head, but Violet said that made sense when she noticed her discomfort. They'd just come to the conclusion that they could prop her bed up a bit when the Healer sent to retrieve her family returned, her parents and siblings in tow.

It was a testament to how out of it she still was that she wondered for a moment where her Great-Gran was, but it didn't take long to remember. It was this and the relief at seeing her mother that had Erin nearing tears once again.

"Oh, sweetheart," Hannah said as she approached her daughter's bed. She sat gently next to Erin, who automatically lifted her arms, inviting her mother to embrace her, which she did gently. "Thank God you're awake," she continued as she pulled back. "How are you feeling?"

Erin swallowed, still struggling to get any words out. It appeared the one needed to get her mother here had been enough to exhaust her energy.

"She's going to be a bit sluggish for a while," said Violet, addressing the concerned looks she was receiving from Hannah and Neville. "But she's already showing improvement."

"What exactly happened?" her father asked, who now stood beside Erin's head. She reached up and took his hand in hers.

Violet turned her attention to one of the other Healers in the room, and Erin was surprised to recognize Dean Thomas, who she knew held a senior level at the hospital. Did that mean her case was severe? Or was he just here because he was good friends with her father?

"We ran diagnostics as soon as she got her," Healer Thomas began, speaking professionally, but not unkindly. "It was a bit hard to interpret the readings we got at first, because it looks like she got hit with two curses at once. One appears to be a nasty enchanted sleep curse that I've never seen before. We did some digging and found cases of something similar being used back in the 1600's, and it looks like it didn't completely do its job. Either the caster didn't perform it that powerfully, or the combination of the spells lessened the effect of it. I've seen things like that happen before. She was pretty lucky, honestly. There wouldn't have been anything magical or medical we could've done to wake her up if the curse had been full blown. It would've just been a matter of time, if she'd woken up at all."

He paused and glanced apologetically down at Erin before looking at her parents again. "The other was a memory charm," he said, causing the room to collectively hold their breath. "Thankfully, it looks like both spells were cast a little recklessly, so even if they tried to wipe her whole memory, it doesn't appear to have been successful. It's possible that the spells collided before they hit her and she got some sort of aftershock from it. So a close call all around really."

The room was silent as Dean's words sunk in. Erin was a bit surprised that he'd been that transparent about how narrow a miss she'd had. As relieved as she was that things hadn't been worse, it was terrifying to hear just how close she'd come to being far worse off.

"So…" her father began, pausing to clear his throat. "So, is there any type of lasting damage, or…?"

"There shouldn't be," said Dean. "It's possible she lost some of her memory, but whether it was localized or a smattering of memories, only time will tell. We won't be able to make any restorative attempts until we know what, if anything, is missing." He looked down at Erin. "You've been improving by the minute," he told her, "so just rest and let your body do what it needs to do, all right? I doubt you'll be here longer than a few days."

Erin gave him a smile, grateful that he'd chosen to speak to her as well as her parents.

"She's had some pretty severe head pain," said Violet, "but she's already on some pain potion and it comes in waves. We don't want to push her too much, but her brain needs to exercise as well as rest so we can't just let her sleep it off."

"Give her time," Dean said to the room at large, "but it's okay to keep her engaged while she's awake. Her motor functions seem to be fine, but speech and memory might take a little time."

"What parts of her memory?" asked Alice, who was standing by the end of the bed and had her hand on Erin's blanket covered foot. "She seems to know us, but will she have trouble retaining things or just trouble remembering things from before?"

"Could be a bit of both," said Dean with an uncertain shrug. "We won't really know until she can fully communicate with us."

It was silent as this news registered. Erin wished she could tell them not to worry. She knew exactly who they all were and she hadn't forgotten anything.

We'll, except what had happened to land her here in the first place.

Her eyes focused in on her brother, who came around from behind their mother to place his hand on her leg. He gave her a soft smile, though she could still see the fear in his eyes. Everyone was still watching her uncertainly, their minds probably running over the possible reality they were facing. It seemed obvious to her that she knew them, based on her reaction to their presence and the way she was drinking them in with love and care.

"She can't really move her head so questions probably aren't best, but you can try talking to her," Violet prompted. "See how she responds."

They all nodded but glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. It was Ethan who finally spoke up, squeezing her leg and saying, "Hey, Ernie."

Her reaction was immediate. It had been ages since her brother had called her that, mostly due to the fact that she'd finally retaliated and he hadn't been a fan of her tactic. The scowl she sent her brother had her whole family grinning, Ethan even letting out a light chuckle.

"I haven't been able to get away with that in ages," said Ethan, relief obvious in his voice.

"As soon as she gets her voice back, be prepared to face some consequences," Alice warned, still smiling down at her sister.

"Anything more recent you can think of?" asked Dean. "We don't know if she even remembers what happened."

Her family shared uncertain glances, apparently at a loss for what they could do to probe her memory. Erin was beginning to feel frustrated and disappointed when her brother turned around and addressed someone behind him. Someone Erin couldn't see.

"Maybe you could help with this part?" he asked hopefully. Erin waited, anxious and curious as she heard the sound of footsteps growing closer. And her brother moved around Alice to stand at the end of the bed, making room for a young man with messy black hair and green eyes to approach.

_Albus. _

His eyes were a bit red and he looked haggard, his hair a bit more mussed than usual. There was something else about him that seemed different that she couldn't quite put her finger on. All she really knew was that she was incredibly happy to see him and wanted nothing more than to hold him, kiss him, and tell him how much she loved him.

Wait, what? Since when had she started admitting such feelings? Even to herself?

"Hey," said Al, placing his hands on the bed but not touching her. His eyes searched hers desperately, and Erin felt her initial feelings at seeing him strengthen. Without really thinking, she released her father's hand and reached for Al, something embarrassingly close to a whimper escaping her lips. It was worth it to see Al let out an enormous sigh of relief and move towards her, gripping her hand in his and raising it to his lips. Her eyes widened as he kissed her hand, but he was preoccupied with moving into the space her mother had made for him to really notice.

"You scared the hell out of me," he said, leaning over her a moment later and placing a much more tender kiss than she could've ever anticipated on her forehead. She barely had time to brace herself before he followed this up with the briefest of kisses on her lips.

Holy shit. Had he really just done that? In front of her father? Her whole family?

She felt her face grow hot, most likely bright red now as he sat on the bed next to her, Erin's free hand that wasn't holding his reflexively going to her lips.

Why had that felt so familiar when he'd never done it before?

Al was now looking at her in concern. That apparently hadn't been the reaction he'd expected.

Before any other questions could be asked, someone else entered the room.

"She's awake?" Erin heard the familiar sound of her best friend's voice before she saw her. Ethan and Alice moved to the other side of the bed to make room for Rose and Scorpius at the end of it.

"Yes, but she suffered some trauma to her brain," Violet explained, continuing at the terrified looks on the newcomers faces. "She'll be fine, eventually. Just a little sluggish right now and she's not really talking yet which is fine. Things are still trying to communicate properly again."

She went on to explain things in more detail, repeating what she'd already told everyone else. But Erin wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were focused on the way a bruised Scorpius was holding Rose's hand in his own.

Umm… what?

"She knows us," she heard her father say. "But we don't know if there's anything she can't remember. Like what happened at the Manor."

Manor? Which manor?

"W-w...wha…"

Every eye snapped to her, and to keep herself from being overwhelmed by all their expectant expressions, Erin focused on Al, who was still holding her hand and sitting right next to her. He was looking at her more tenderly than he ever had before.

With a deep breath, she focused all her energy into getting out a simple word.

"What…?"

Al grinned and kissed her hand once again as she looked at him in question. "Merlin, it's bloody brilliant to hear your voice, love."

_Love?_

"You were working late at the Manor," said Scorpius. "I went to check on you since you were late to the Burrow, and I only barely saw you lying unconscious on the floor before I was out cold myself. They only hit me, though."

What? Working at the Manor? Malfoy Manor?

Things were making less and less sense.

"W-w-why?"

"Dad's working on figuring that bit out," said Al. "He already talked to-"

"No," Erin cut him off, grateful that she was finally starting to get words out without stumbling over them. "Why…th-there?"

Albus looked at her in confusion. "You work there, love. Remember?"

There was that word again. And while it made Erin uncontrollably giddy to hear him call her that, it also terrified her.

Because it was obvious he'd done it before. But she had absolutely no memory of it.

With a great deal of effort and the realization that she probably would be too tired to communicate much more after asking, she looked at Al and managed to get out a final one-worded question.

"L-love?"

* * *

It nearly broke Scorpius' heart to see the confusion and uncertainty on Erin's face. And he felt it actually crack a bit to see his best friend come to such a painful conclusion.

Erin remembered who they all were, but she'd forgotten how much she and Al meant to each other.

"Erin?" said Rose, finally breaking the nearly minute long silence that filled the room. "What's the last thing you remember?"

They all watched her as she struggled, looking at them all imploringly. She either didn't know what the last thing was she remembered, or talking was something she no longer had the strength to do.

"Erin," said Dean, using a soft and soothing voice as he spoke to his patient. "Try blinking once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'. Think you can do that?"

It took a second, but she gave Dean one firm blink.

"Right," he said, turning to the group surrounding her bed. "Probably best to take it slow. Maybe just one of you ask for now?"

They all nodded, and Scorpius was a bit surprised to see everyone turn to Rose. Even Al, who he assumed would've been eager to do this himself. But then he noticed how pale his best friend looked and realized just how shaken he was.

"Okay," Rose began uncertainly, taking a moment to think before asking, "You know who we all are, right?"

This resulted in an instant blink and a collective sigh of relief from the room.

"Do you know who Violet's boyfriend is?"

A quick smirk, a glance at Violet, and a single, firm blink. They all collectively breathed a sigh of relief once again.

"Good," said Rose. "So…you know about your gran?"

A hesitation, and then a slower, single blink.

"How about the book we read this year for Muggle studies."

A furrowed brow, and then two blinks.

Scorpius felt the first actual wave of fear hit him. Sure, it was possible that she'd simply forgotten what they'd read, but they'd spent a whole term on it. It wasn't likely.

"Does Professor Bancroft teach Muggle Studies?"

One blink.

Scorpius turned to look at Malcolm, who'd joined the family in the room along with Molly, but was hanging back. At Rose's question, he took a step forward and paused before moving around the bed to stand with Alice who was beckoning him to her. Molly moved to join Ethan as well.

The confusion on Erin's face at the two new people was obvious.

"Do you know who this is?" asked Alice, indicating Malcolm. Erin blinked twice as her breathing grew heavier.

"Do you remember graduating Hogwarts?" asked Rose.

Two blinks.

"Do you remember being in seventh year at all?"

Scorpius felt his heart plummet to his feet, watching as Erin, once again, blinked twice.

And now there were silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

They all stood in stunned silence. Neville and Hannah were looking helplessly at Dean, and sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. In that moment, it was difficult to imagine how anything would ever be the same again.

"This is good news, everyone," said Dean, which didn't sit too well with Al.

"How the fuck is that good news?" he asked, jerking his head up to glare at the healer, his voice cracking and strained as he barely held himself together.

"Because it looks like it was a stretch of memory," Dean explained calmly, "which is much easier to treat than something more scattered. If she'd remembered everything but forgotten one person or one place or random memories over the course of her life, that would be harder to remedy. A chronological stretch of memory is easier to restore."

"So she could still remember?" asked Ethan, who was watching his now fully crying younger sisters while Molly held his hand. Al was now crawling into the bed beside Erin, ignoring Violet's half-hearted protests.

"Yes, she could," said Dean. "We'd have to sedate her, which I'm not comfortable doing quite yet. It would be better if she was a little stronger mentally before we went in and did more fiddling around in there."

Neville began asking questions about timeline and procedure, but Scorpius was paying more attention to the way Al was now cradling a slightly gobsmacked yet still tearful Erin in his arms, pulling her to him so her head rested on his chest and he buried his face in her golden waves. It was a good thing they'd at least been close friends their whole lives. If this had happened to Alice, it would've been unbearable to watch Malcolm unable to do anything to comfort a woman who didn't know him, even though he loved her. This was difficult to watch as it was.

"I think it's time we give her some rest," Dean said after giving the Longbottoms all the information they needed about their daughter's care. "If she wakes up tomorrow doing as well as I think she will, I'd be comfortable authorizing the restoration tests and maybe even the procedure."

Erin was now crying into Al's chest, but she extracted a hand that was curled up between them to reach out and squeeze the hands of each of her family members as they left the room a few reluctant moments later, her parents both dropping kisses on it as well. Scorpius felt Rose squeeze his hand. He knew they should leave too, but something in him made him not want to leave his friend. Either of them, but especially Al. Erin would be in the care of the Healers, but they were likely to kick Al out way sooner than he'd be okay with leaving.

"Al, I'm sorry…" Violet began, obviously pained to have to ask him to leave. With a heavy and shaky sigh, Al closed his eyes, placed a long kiss on Erin's forehead, and began to pull away. But Erin's hands held tight to his shirt, her tears turning into sobs as he made to move away. And then she was groaning in pain a moment later, her eyes tightly shut as she almost writhed in agony.

"What's happening?" Al asked, panic in his voice as he resumed his previous position, holding Erin as Violet instructed her to breathe through it.

"She's still healing," Violet explained as Erin's body began to relax with her deep breathing. "Bright lights, loud noises...intense emotion. All likely to cause discomfort right now. Rest is all that can help at this point."

Al nodded, still a bit unsettled as Erin curled herself closer to him. "I'm staying."

Violet looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "Al…"

"You want her to rest and she will," he argued, "but me leaving didn't appear to do a whole lot of good."

He had a point there. Not only had his proposed departure caused Erin emotional distress, but she was now lying peacefully in Al's arms, her eyes closed and her breathing even as she began to drift off.

"Fine," Violet relented. "But as soon as she's asleep…"

Al nodded, though he seemed reluctant to do so. Dean had left with the Longbottoms, and Violet stopped next to Rose before leaving the room herself.

"Can I trust you two to make sure he doesn't sleep here all night?" she asked softly. Scorpius nodded along with Rose. Violet gave them a grateful smile and then left the room, leaving the four best friends on their own.

There was nothing Scorpius felt like doing besides standing there and silently waiting. Waiting for Erin to fall asleep, for Al to pull himself away from her, and then for himself and Rose to handle a most-likely very distraught Albus Potter. He'd held himself together up till now, but Scorpius knew his best friend well enough to be aware of the potential emotional fall out to follow.

And even though he'd be there for his best friend without question, Scorpius had other concerns that he felt anxious to address. And they were concerns that he knew he needed to discuss with Albus.

"Al," Rose said in a soft voice after five solid minutes of silence. With a sigh of resignation, Al slowly pulled himself away from a soundly sleeping Erin. He stood and watched her for a moment before turning and walking silently towards the door. Scorpius and Rose followed, having to quicken their pace to keep up with Al as he sped up when he reached the hall, nearly breaking into a run.

"Al," Scorpius called out, struggling to keep up with his best friend. He abruptly turned a few feet ahead of them and disappeared into a bathroom. Scorpius paused when he reached the door, giving Rose an apologetic look before following after Al.

The sound of someone retching in one of the stalls immediately met Scorpius' ears, and he grimaced at the disgruntled looking wizard washing his hands. He mouthed an apology to the man, who was quick to leave as soon as possible, especially as Al continued to be sick a few stalls away. Thankfully, the rest of the room was empty, and Scorpius waited patiently until he saw Al sink fully onto the floor and sit with his back against the side of the stall before he approached.

Scorpius could hear Al breathing heavily as he paused at the door, thankful he'd remembered to grab his wand from beside his hospital bed before he'd gone with Rose to see Erin. He conjured a cup and moved to the sink to fill it with water before going back and knocking on the stall door, which moved forward at his touch. It wouldn't open all the way with Al blocking it, but Scorpius managed to squeeze through the door and slide down the wall so he was sitting across from his best friend.

Al had his knees up, his arms resting on them and his head hanging as he continued to breathe heavily. Scorpius leaned forward, nudging Al's hand with the cup of water until he glanced up and took it. He avoided Scorpius' eye but took a drink and sloshed the water around his mouth before spitting it into the toilet. He then chugged the rest of it, letting the cup drop to the floor when it was empty. With his eyes closed, he leaned his head back against the wall, a metallic thunk ringing through the otherwise empty room. Scorpius could feel the exhaustion and misery pouring off of him. There were dark bags under his eyes and Scorpius watched in shock as a tear escaped down his cheek. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen his best friend cry.

"Fuck," Al grumbled, scrunching up his face and rubbing his eyes in frustration. A sob wracked his body, but Scorpius was grateful that Al took a deep breath and was able to keep himself from breaking down any further. He wouldn't judge Al if he completely fell apart, but Scorpius didn't feel quite equipped to handle that. A crying Rose, sure. But a crying Albus?

"It's so _fucking_ unfair," Al ground out, his voice rough and shaky as he continued to press his fingers into his eyes. He took a couple more deep breaths before dropping his hand and staring blankly up at the ceiling. "Just… _so _unfair."

"I know, mate," said Scorpius, truly feeling that way himself. "But you heard Healer Thomas. They're optimistic and - "

"And everything will be fine, will it?" Al asked a bit aggressively. "They don't know that for sure."

Scorpius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, hoping that it will be is about the only way I see any of us getting through the next couple days."

Al let out a deep breath, his eyes blinking rapidly as he continued to stare at the ceiling. "It's just…It's one of those things, you know? Those things that you feel could've easily been avoided if people had just…"

An unsettled feeling lodged itself in Scorpius' gut, and the conversation they'd had in his hospital room came to the forefront of his mind once again. He'd noted how on edge Al was as Harry asked questions, and he couldn't help coming to the conclusion that his best friend knew something he didn't.

"I'm really sorry, Al," he said, truly meaning it but also feeling like he couldn't say anything else yet. Al shook his head and finally looked him in the eye.

"It's not _your_ fault," Al assured him, but there was an undeniable implication to his words. He knew it wasn't Scorpius' fault, but he did place the blame somewhere else.

"You heard your dad," said Scorpius, still feeling a bit uneasy and doing his best to deny the conclusion he'd started to form after talking to Rose's dad. "They're already on top of trying to figure out who did this."

Al gave a derisive snort, his eyes going back to the ceiling again as he slowly shook his head. "Right," he said, the word soft and mumbled and showing how unconvinced he was. It was this response combined with all the other unavoidable evidence that had Scorpius unable to not ask his next question.

"Who were they talking about?" he asked, the words coming out a bit rushed with his nerves. "Our dads."

He waited a few anxious moments as Al let out a deep breath before looking at him. There was regret in his eyes as he hesitated, and a pit formed in Scorpius' stomach, knowing what Al was going to say without him having to open his mouth.

"It's Theo, right?" Scorpius asked, knowing he didn't sound as calm as he wanted to. "They were talking about Theo."

It wasn't even really a question at this point. Especially with the way Al was looking at him.

"I'm sorry, mate," he muttered, but Scorpius was already standing and making his way out of the stall. He didn't need to see the pitying look on his best friend's face. He couldn't comfort him anymore either. All he could do was feel a growing sense of betrayal as he stormed out of the bathroom, nearly running into Rose as she stood waiting for them in the hallway.

"Is he okay?" Rose asked. But the worry for her cousin faded as she took in the stoney expression of her boyfriend. "Wait, what happened?"

"You didn't know, did you?" he asked, needing not everyone to have lied to him. "About Theo?"

Rose looked alarmed at his question. "What? What about Theo?"

"That they suspect he's somehow involved in this," he couldn't help saying fiercely. "Al and his dad and your dad. They all think he had something to do with this."

Rose's eyes were wide as she watched him in shock, trying to come up with a response. "Scorp…" she eventually choked out, reaching up to rest a hand gently against his cheek. It succeeded in getting him to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. "I'm so sorry."

Scorpius experienced a beautiful moment of calm, grateful that he wasn't alone in this

"I can't imagine how you feel," she continued, her arms going around his waist and holding him close. Scorpius held her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. They stood there silently for a few moments before Rose said, "I never imagined he'd do something like this."

It was as if everything had suddenly turned cold, Rose's words and their meaning ringing in his head. Slowly, he pulled back, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking down at her sympathetic face.

"You think he's involved, don't you?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it. Rose seemed to realize her mistake as dread overtook her face.

"No, Scorp," she said with a bit of panic in her voice. "I don't… I mean-"

"Forget it," he said a bit harshly, pulling away from her and unable to feel anything but anger as she looked at him apologetically. "I should've known you'd believe them."

"Scorpius, please," Rose begged, grabbing his arm as he attempted to walk away. He relented, but shook off her arm and refused to look at her as she stood in front of him. "I know you trust him, and I want to too, but I can't…I can't lie and-"

"You can have my back, Rose," he snapped, looking down at her in frustration. "I thought you told me that's who you wanted to be for me."

I _do _Scorpius!" she pleaded. "But I'm not going to lie to you and hope that Theo doesn't let you down when we all known he's done it plenty of times before!"

He could tell she regretted them the moment the words were out of her mouth, but it didn't matter. It was a reminder that he didn't need, and she knew that.

"Didn't expect you to let me down too."

Ignoring the guilt he felt threatening to creep in when Rose's face fell, Scorpius brushed past her, walking away and refusing to turn back, even as she called his name.

* * *

**A/N: Don't hate me for this! Instead, be grateful that I can't sleep so I'm not waiting till tomorrow to post. I'm seriously dying to know what you think of this chapter and what you expect to happen next. You know what to do! I've received some very kind words about my stories lately and I can't tell you how much it means to me each and every time!**


	18. In the wink of a young girl's eye

"Think you can sit up?" the Healer asked Erin. Rose's best friend gave a slow nod, pushing herself up on the hospital bed.

It was a relief to see that Erin already seemed much stronger than she had the day before. Her movements were still a bit stiff, but her mind had cleared up. She still couldn't remember the last year, but she was able to hold conversations like normal. And the bursts of pain she'd been having were fewer and much less severe.

Despite the fact that it was a Saturday, Rose was currently the only other person in Erin's room. Most of this was due to Erin's wishes. She'd been overwhelmed with all the concerned looks and questions she'd received from her family members. They hadn't taken her assurances that she was fine and that they didn't have to hover seriously until Dean had come in to tell them he felt comfortable doing a memory restoration procedure on her the following day.

It wasn't until now, after her parents and siblings were gone, that Erin let her strong exterior crack. Not entirely, but enough for Rose to know that this was more difficult for her than she'd been letting on.

"Deep breath," the Healer requested, checking over Erin as they'd been doing every few hours throughout the day. Rose would know. She'd been there since she'd been allowed in that morning.

It had been a long and sleepless night for Rose, tossing and turning in her old room at her parents' house. Going back to an empty flat had seemed an impossibility. Instead, she went back to her childhood home with Hugo the night before and had only stuck around long enough that morning to say goodbye to her brother. It was strange to think he'd be at Hogwarts the next day and that she wouldn't.

It was a sad thing to think about, but it was easier than some of her other options.

"Rose?"

Her attention snapped to Erin at the call of her name. "Yeah, do you need something?" asked Rose, standing from her seat by the window to approach the bed. Erin gave her a grateful smile before nodding in acknowledgment at the Healer who told her she'd be back to check on her in a few hours before leaving.

"You said you brought some socks?" Erin asked. Rose nodded, moving back to the bag she'd packed for Erin earlier in the day and digging through it.

"Are you cold?" Rose asked.

"A bit," said Erin. "These hospital gowns aren't exactly cozy."

Rose grinned, grabbing a few other items from the bag before approaching Erin. "Here," she said, dropping leggings and a jumper onto the bed as well as socks. "I doubt you'll get in trouble if you change."

Erin gave Rose a grateful smile, which turned curious as she grabbed the jumper. "This must be new," she commented. "I don't recognize it."

Rose looked more closely at the dark green jumper, realizing with a bit of trepidation where it came from. "Oh," she said, trying to play it off like it wasn't a big deal and hoping Erin wouldn't ask too many questions. "Nana Molly made that. I think it's Al's."

Erin's eyes widened in surprise, but rather than commenting, she looked down at the sweater and nodded before slowly standing from the bed. Rose made her way across the room to shut the door before coming back and assisting Erin, who seemed a bit embarrassed to be receiving help with such a simple task but needing it enough not to protest.

"Are you still hungry?" Rose asked as Erin climbed back into bed.

"No," she said, sighing as she leaned back into the pillows on her propped up bed and busied herself with rolling up the cuffs on the jumper. Erin continued to rub the material between her fingers when she was done. She looked contemplative and maybe a little nervous as she lifted her eyes to meet Rose's. "We're together, aren't we."

It wasn't a question, but Rose let out a deep breath and nodded, hating the look of pain that crossed Erin's face at the confirmation.

"It smells like him," she said, her voice thick with emotion as she continued to fiddle with the jumper. "I remember what he smells like and I remember that I love him and I know I didn't know any of that before, but that's it. I can't remember how or why."

Rose sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to give Erin's leg a comforting squeeze. "That's something, though," she encouraged. "It means not everything's gone, and the rest is going to all be sorted tomorrow."

"What if it isn't?" Erin asked, wiping at her eyes as tears threatened to fall. "What then?"

"Then…" Rose began uncertainly. "Then I'm sure Al would be more than willing to fill you in on everything you missed."

"Really?" she asked, the word coming out sarcastic and harsher than Rose expected. "When? It's not like he's been by to see me all day."

Rose cringed, knowing Erin was well within her rights to be upset about this. She was actually quite disappointed in her cousin for this as well, but in a way, she understood.

"I'm sure he wants to be here, but you know Al," she said. "He's shit when it comes to dealing with his emotions. Especially the ones that aren't easy."

"Like this is easy for me?" Erin said with a scoff. "And yeah, maybe I do know that about him, but there's apparently a whole lot more that I'm supposed to know that I now don't, and it would be great if he could stop being a prat and just bloody get over it."

Rose sighed, understanding Erin's frustrations but unsure if there was a way she could make them better. Unless she went out and found her cousin and dragged him to the hospital by the ear.

"Whatever," said Erin dismissively, sniffing and wiping at her eyes once again. "I noticed you and Scorpius were holding hands yesterday. You two finally together?"

And there it was. The thing she'd been avoiding thinking about since she'd gotten out of bed that morning. Her night had been spent tossing and turning, thinking if she could've said or done anything differently while trying not to cry. She'd only mostly succeeded.

But there was too much there to really tell Erin about. Especially since she didn't even have the whole backstory. It would take hours, and neither of them could afford a sleepless night.

"Yeah, we are," Rose said simply, doing her best to not let her feelings show on her face even as her hand went up to fiddle with the necklace she wore almost every day. The one he'd bought her on their first sort-of date.

"Why hasn't he stopped by, then?"

Rose hesitated, but soon realized she probably had a very good idea where he was. "He's with his family. It's complicated, but they've got a lot going on right now."

Erin nodded, not seeming too entirely convinced but not asking questions either. "And Molly? Why was she here yesterday?"

"She's dating Ethan," Rose said with a grin, enjoying the gobsmacked look this news earned from Erin.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "How long?"

"Just since the beginning of the summer," said Rose. "Though they wrote letters all last school year."

Erin nodded. "Right. Because Ethan wasn't there last school year. Because we graduated."

Rose could only nod as Erin took a few deep breaths, calming herself as she adjusted to her new reality. A reality that Rose hoped was temporary.

"I'm trying to decide how much I want you to tell me," said Erin, the words slow and thoughtful. "Because if whatever they do tomorrow works, I'll know anyway. And I'm not sure how much I can handle learning right now."

Rose gave her a small smile, moving off the bed to sit in the chair next to it. "You can ask me anything you want, but you definitely don't have to."

Erin smiled gratefully, but it was fleeting. "So," she began after a brief hesitation, "we ended up getting a flat together? Just like we planned?"

Rose nodded. "Just like we planned."

The fact that at least something had gone according to her plans seemed to bolster Erin's strength a bit. "And everyone else in my family is - wait." Her mind seemed to whir for a bit before she looked at Rose in confusion. "There was someone else here last night. I was a bit too preoccupied to really think about it, but I've got no clue who he is."

Rose thought for a minute, trying to figure out who Erin was talking about before it hit her. "Oh, that's right!" she said, surprised she'd forgotten herself. "That was Malcolm Bray. He's Charlotte's older brother and he's the new Muggle Studies professor. And he and Alice have been together since...well, I'm not entirely sure how long. It was a bit complicated."

Erin's mouth was now open in shock. "Ally's actually dating someone?" she asked, her expression turning hesitant a moment later. "Wait, he's a good bloke, right? Because the last one-"

"Yes, he's brilliant," Rose assured her with a smile. Erin let out a relieved sigh at this news before continuing to ask Rose an assortment of questions, whatever fears she'd had about being overwhelmed outweighed by curiosity for the time being. Most of it was about her family, or Rose and _her_ family. Rose couldn't help noticing that Erin steered clear of anything that actually had to do with herself. Or Al. And Rose didn't really blame her. It would be a bit unnerving not to mention depressing to hear about so many things you'd done or experienced and couldn't even remember.

It had been about an hour since they'd been left alone by her family and the healers when there was a soft knock on the door. Their conversation had moved on to simply reminiscing about the years at Hogwarts that Erin remembered, but they fell silent in anticipation as they watched the door slowly open. It was Rose who let out a slightly disappointed sigh when they caught sight of who had arrived. Albus stuck his head through the crack in the doorway, looking a bit uncertain as his eyes glanced between the two of them.

"Hey," he said, fully entering the room but staying by the still open door. "Am I interrupting or-"

"You're fine," said Rose, glancing at Erin to make sure _she _was fine. There was a bit of color in her cheeks and she'd gone back to tugging on the sleeves of her jumper - _Al's _jumper - but she definitely didn't seem opposed to his presence.

"Good," said Al, giving Erin a quick but nervous smile before focusing his attention on Rose. "Can I have a word?"

Rose nodded and stood, giving Erin an encouraging smile before heading out of the room. She looked back in surprise when she heard Al tell Erin that they'd be quick. And then Al was moving out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

"I thought you wanted to talk to Erin," Rose said in confusion.

"Yeah, I do," said Al a bit nervously. "But I need to fill you in first."

"Okay," said Rose, folding her arms and scrutinizing her cousin. He looked exhausted. "Maybe start with where you've been all day?"

"Ministry," said Al. "With what happened at the Malfoy's yesterday, it's been a bit all hands on deck. There've been other incidents with a lot of similarities in recent months, so they've been building a case and they're cracking down even harder now. Dad's...begrudgingly letting me in on it. Most of the trainees have been helping look through the incident reports, actually. I figured I couldn't really be of much help here," he said with a shrug, "so I might as well do everything I could to be useful elsewhere."

Rose nodded but couldn't help disagreeing. "She's wanted to see you all day, though," she said softly. "And I know this isn't easy for you, but it's terrifying and confusing for her."

"I know," said Al, the words almost a sigh as he rubbed at his tired face. "I know, and I'm probably not handling this well, but do you think anyone would?"

He had a point there.

"Look, we need to talk about Scorpius," said Al, his tone turning serious. "Have you seen him?"

Rose looked down and shook her head, not really wanting to talk about it but knowing they probably had to. "He wasn't too happy with me last night. I didn't exactly agree with his view of things when it comes to Theo."

She heard Al let out a muffled curse but kept her gaze focused on her shoes, willing herself not to panic about her relationship or do something embarrassing like cry.

"Has he been with you at the Ministry?" Rose asked. "Did he say anything?"

Looking up, she hesitantly glanced at her cousin. He had his lower lip between his teeth and was staring at the ceiling with his hands on his head as he shook it. "No. I haven't seen him all day either."

"Oh," said Rose. "Well, I suppose he's with his parents."

"He isn't," said Al, who sighed and rubbed at his face again. "Fuck, I was really hoping you'd know where he was."

Panic surged through Rose at his words. "What? What do you mean? Where is he?"

"That's the _point_, Rose," said Al. "No one's seen him. Not since he left the hospital last night."

* * *

It had started out as a simple plan - prove that Theo didn't have any part in all of this.

He'd then quickly realized that, as he had no idea where Theo was, that was a near impossibility.

As a kid, he'd had dreams of tracking down his godfather, putting together clues and showing up on Theo's doorstep in a surprising and impressive fashion. Now, however, he was realizing how difficult of a task that would be. They'd done a bit of work on investigative skills in his short time as an Auror trainee, but that came more with experience than anything else, and that was something he didn't have yet.

Rather than going back to his shared dorm with Albus after leaving the hospital, Scorpius had wandered the streets of London, attempting to clear his head. Theo hadn't lived in London for ages, and Scorpius only had vague ideas as to the other places he'd stayed. He'd spent time in Spain, Italy, and Morocco, because he'd brought things back from those places for Scorpius when he was a kid. But that had been a while ago. He hadn't been up front in a long time about where he was living or traveling to.

Scorpius shoved the part of him that realized how suspicious this was to the deep recesses of his mind.

Well, seeing as he didn't know where he'd been last, the best place to start would probably be the last place Scorpius knew for sure he'd lived.

Thankfully, Scorpius knew the person who still lived there.

With determination in his stride, he made his way to the Leaky Cauldron, where he quickly took the Floo to Nott Manor.

The home was a bit smaller than the one he grew up in, but in some ways more grand. This was due to the fact that, while his mother preferred a rather understated decor, there was nothing subtle about Pansy Nott.

Scorpius only had a moment to take in the frilly drapes and elegant lounge chairs before a House Elf entered the room and gave him a slight bow.

"Master Malfoy," the elf said in a young and squeaky voice. "Is Mistress expecting you?"

"No," said Scorpius, checking the clock on the mantle. "And I know it's late, but is she around?"

The elf nodded. "But Mistress was just going to bed. She is not liking to be bothered by Lolly when she is going to bed, sir."

Scorpius sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I normally wouldn't ask, but it's important, Lolly. Please?"

The House Elf hesitated for a few seconds, her big, round eyes looking nervous before she was gone with a crack. Scorpius took a seat on the least fancy looking piece of furniture, trying to formulate what he was going to say as he waited. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before he heard the sound of heeled shoes coming down the grand staircase he knew was right outside the sitting room. He stood to greet his host and wasn't at all surprised by what he saw when she entered.

Pansy Nott still had her dark hair fancily done up, beautiful jewels still in her ears. She was wearing a silk robe over a matching silk nightgown, heeled slippers lined with fur on her feet. While she'd never been the most beautiful woman in the world, there was still something striking about her appearance. His mother had once said that she'd matured into her features, looking better with age. It had been a few years since Scorpius had seen Pansy, and he found he had to agree with his mother as she took him in, her rather regal features scrunched up in confusion as she appraised her late night guest.

"Scorpius, is everything all right?" she asked. "What happened to your face?"

"Oh," said Scorpius, his hand going to his injured jaw. "Right, yeah, it's been a bit of a long night. Someone broke into the Manor."

"What?!" she asked, her voice shrill in outrage and a bit of fear in her stance as she clutched at her nightgown. "What on earth for? What happened?"

"We don't know, and they attacked Erin Longbottom right before I showed up looking for her. They left after taking a blow at me as well."

Pansy shook her head, her arms crossed and her hands gripping her biceps as if to hold herself. "That doesn't make any sense. Surely Draco has all sorts of protections in place."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't good enough, apparently," said Scorpius, growing frustrated the longer they spent not discussing what he'd come there for in the first place. "Listen-"

"But surely your enchantments have been compromised," she continued, looking a bit panicked now. "I mean, otherwise it would have to be someone who already had access-"

"We know, Pansy," Scorpius cut in. "The Aurors are working on it and I'm sure they'll be checking in on all the other possible at-risk homes so you'll probably hear from them soon. But that's not why I came."

For a moment, she looked like she was about to argue with him, but he breathed a sigh of relief when she sat herself on one of the chairs instead and watched him expectantly.

Scorpius remained standing in front of her and paused for a moment before deciding just to be blunt about it. "I have some questions about Theo."

Unsurprisingly, this made Pansy's eyes widen in surprise, but she was scoffing and standing a moment later with her hands on her hips. "If you came over here at one o'clock in the morning just to ask me about my ex husband, you're more of an idiot than he is."

"Pansy, please," said Scorpius. "I've got no clue where he is and they think he's got something to do with all of this. I just need to find him and straighten this whole thing out."

Pansy raised an unimpressed brow at him. "And what makes you think he's innocent?"

Her question stunned Scorpius, but he should have been prepared for it. While Pansy didn't really like much of anything or anyone, she especially didn't like her ex husband. She probably believed him capable of just about anything.

"Look, just help me, please," said Scorpius. "I know you hate him, but he means a lot to me. And I'd rather find him before the Aurors do."

Pansy gave an unamused snort. "I might not be Potter's biggest fan, but I do know he's got that department whipped into pretty good shape. If they're really looking at Theo for this, it won't be long before they come asking me questions too, and they've got a lot more resources at their disposal than you do."

"I know," said Scorpius. "Which is why it would be great if you could tell me anything you can."

With a resigned sigh, Pansy resumed her seat, and Scorpius sat across from her. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything that can help me find him."

Pansy fiddled with her earring and thought for a moment, her lips pursed. "I really don't think I know much of anything that will be of use to you. I don't know where he's been living or much about what he's been doing. Everything I can tell you would simply be guess work at this point."

"Okay," said Scorpius. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "He showed up here drunk off his arse a few weeks ago. I didn't let him stick around very long and he was babbling on about fixing things. Which he'll never be able to do."

It somewhat amused Scorpius the intensity with which Pansy insisted on her negative feelings for her former husband. Almost as if she were convincing herself it was how she felt.

"Nothing about where he was going?"

"Nope. Just that he'd be back. And before you ask, he didn't say when."

Scorpius sighed. "Okay, well, do you know who he might have told? Is there anyone else who might know something?"

There was a pause as Pansy seemed to contemplate not what to tell him, but whether or not she should. "I'm probably going to regret this," she said in hesitation, "but there's two people you could talk to."

Finally feeling like he had some hope, Scorpius sat forward, listening intently as Pansy took a deep breath and braced herself.

"The first is Simon Vaisey," she said. "I know they used to do some work together and from what I've heard, they've kept in touch. I have his sister's address if you'd like it."

Scorpius nodded. "That would be great. And the second?"

Pansy paused again, her hesitation and obvious distress a bit unnerving. And Scorpius understood her reluctance a moment later.

"That would be your uncle. Blaise Zabini."

* * *

**A/N: a little shorter this tome but at least I updated! I got a little distracted writing some oneshots that I'll probably post soon but I figured it was about time I get this out there first. Thanks for all your lovely reviews! They seriously are very appreciated.**


	19. Gonna stand my ground

The Auror department was quite busy for a Sunday. Not that Albus really knew what it was usually like, but he had to assume this wasn't normal.

The day before had been a hectic one as well, but Al welcomed the chaos. It kept him occupied and distracted from things he knew he really shouldn't be ignoring. But that was how he'd always handled things, so what was the point in changing now? Especially considering the thing he was ignoring was one of the last things he'd ever imagined having to deal with. The frenzy of the Auror department was a welcome distraction. Invigorating, even.

Or at least it had been.

They'd only noticed Scorpius' absence when Al and the other trainees who were helping pour over the case files had finally taken a break Saturday evening. They'd gone to the cafeteria to grab dinner when Isaac had asked where he was.

"He was in the hospital last night," Zoey said with a raised eyebrow. "You expected him to be here after that?"

"I thought he was fine?" Eden asked Al. He'd sighed, realizing he was no longer allowed the luxury of not thinking about Scorpius, which came with a healthy dose of guilt at the moment.

"He is," he said with a shrug. "He's got a lot going on, though."

Everyone else had taken this excuse with nothing more than a few shrugs and inquisitive looks, but then Al had been unable to shake guilty thoughts of his best friend.

He'd checked their rooms first, but it didn't look like he'd been back there at all. The Manor was still partially a crime scene, but he'd been able to Floo over, only to find that neither of the Malfoys had seen Scorpius since they'd left the hospital the night before. Astoria had Floo called her sister, who hadn't seen him either, and Al's final destination had been to check with Rose.

They'd both tried very hard not to panic after that.

Al hadn't even gone in to see Erin once he realized his best friend truly seemed to be missing, returning to the Ministry as quickly as possible to fill in his dad. The official plan was to wait until Sunday to see if he showed up. It was always possible he was just blowing off steam or getting some air. But as the hours crept by and Sunday morning turned into Sunday afternoon, Al was growing agitated.

"Dad?"

Harry only glanced up from his desk at his son standing in his doorway before going back to the parchment the Head of the Auror Department was talking him through.

"And these are the only ones that fit the profile we established?" Harry asked. Auror Davis nodded.

"It's fewer than we thought," said Auror Davis, her eyes alight with determination as she took the list back from Harry. "Should make it easier to narrow down who might've had access to all locations."

"Right," said Harry, standing and following Davis as she made her way towards the door. "And tell Garrett he needs to get his team ready to go."

She nodded before slipping past Al and out into the busy Auror bullpen. Al barely wasted a moment as soon as he had his father's attention.

"Can we start looking for him now?"

His dad sighed and nodded. "That's what we're having Garrett's team do."

"Good," said Al, crossing his arms and meeting the knowing look on his dad's face with determination. "I'm going."

"No, you're not."

"Dad-"

"Trainee Potter," Harry snapped with a warning tone. "First year trainees do _not _go into the field when they've only been on the job for a month. Especially when they have a personal stake in the case. Are we clear?"

Jaw clenched and gaze stony, Al gave a jerky nod. He'd known his dad took his job seriously and was supposedly the best Auror to come through the Ministry in decades, but it hadn't been easy for Al to transition to seeing him as his superior. And he didn't see it getting any easier if his friends kept ending up in danger.

"Look," said Harry, his tough exterior softening, but only slightly, "I understand that you're upset, but just because you're my son, it doesn't mean you can fight me on things. I don't want to ever have to write you up for insubordination, and seeing as you told Scorpius our suspicions about his godfather when I specifically told you not to, you're already on some shaky ground. He probably wouldn't have run off if you hadn't and we wouldn't be in a situation where we have to send a team of Aurors looking for him. He's likely to get a suspension if he's been off doing what I think he's doing."

Al felt thoroughly chastened as shame and guilt welled up in him. "I'm sorry."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "I know. Just think before you act, yeah? I know you're smarter than this, and when you're ready, you are going to make a brilliant Auror, all right?"

Al nodded, still feeling a bit beat down but thankful that his dad knew how to combine his constructive criticism with encouragement. He was about to go back to trying to make himself useful when his dad rested a hand on his shoulder and steered him further into the office, closing the door behind them. His expression was much more caring when he spoke next.

"How's Erin?"

Al's heart clenched in his chest at the question, his breathing immediately becoming shallower as the one thing he'd been trying so hard not to think about came screaming to the forefront of his mind. And he felt shame fill him once again as he answered. "I don't know."

Harry quirked a brow in question. "What do you mean? I thought you went to see her."

"Well, I planned to," Al explained, avoiding his father's eyes and scratching nervously at his jaw. "But I talked to Rose and got distracted by all this stuff with Scorpius."

"So you haven't seen her since Friday night? Al-"

"I know, all right?" he snapped at the judgmental tone in his father's voice. "I'm being a shit boyfriend but I'm too scared out of my fucking mind to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to do this."

His hands were shaking as he linked his fingers together and rested them on the top of his head. He stared at the ceiling and tried to get his panicked breathing under control. The sound of his father sighing and then moving around the office barely registered, until he heard the Floo lighting up. Al tilted his head down to watch as his dad stuck his head in the flames, waiting uncertainly for him to finish. When he did a few moments later, he stood and dusted off his knees before facing Al.

"She's having a procedure done to help reverse the effects of the memory charm in the next hour. You should go."

A gush of breath left Al as he dropped his hands to his sides. "How... who were you-?"

"St. Mungo's," said Harry, shrugging and folding his arms. "I told them it was related to an ongoing case and they were happy to relay the information. But they'll probably start prepping her soon so you need to get over there now."

Fear rippled through Al. Not just because he was scared that things were changed forever, but because he had no idea what to say to the girl he'd lost his heart to a long time ago. Especially if she had no idea she had it.

The future he'd imagined for himself had seemed so certain, and in the blink of an eye, it wasn't. And what if he now never got a chance to even try to have it? It scared him more than he thought it would. He had no idea how to cope with this type of fear.

"Dad…"

He didn't realize he was close to tears until his vision became cloudy. And then he was sniffing and pressing his fingers against his closed eyes. But he couldn't stop the sob that escaped him as he felt the familiar arms of his father wrap around him.

He hated the fact that he was crying for the third time in the past forty-eight hours, but he couldn't help it. His emotional and physical exhaustion were keeping him from holding much of anything back at this point.

"You love her, yeah?" his dad asked. Al could do nothing more than nod his head as a sob escaped him. Harry gripped him tighter.

"It'll be fine," his dad said, one arm around Al's shoulders and the other on the back of his head as he let his son cry against him. "She still knows you, and I'd bet she still loves you too. I've seen enough of magic to know that a poorly cast memory charm isn't nearly enough to make someone forget what's in their heart."

Al drew in a few rattling breaths, the amount of love he had for Erin threatening to overwhelm him. Even if she didn't remember the last year, she _had_ seemed comforted by his presence. Maybe his dad was right.

"Of course, you'll never know if you don't go and talk to her."

Al gave a hollow chuckle, feeling calmer despite his remaining fear as he pulled away. He wiped at his eyes and let out another deep breath before reluctantly meeting his dad's gaze. The wise green eyes sparkled with understanding behind familiar glasses, and Al could only nod gratefully when Harry offered to let him take his office Floo.

"Don't get used to it," he said with a pointed look as Al took a handful of the powder. "These are extreme circumstances, and I can't have people thinking I'm giving you special treatment. Teddy didn't get any, and you won't either."

Al finally managed to crack a slight smile as he threw the powder into the flames. He was about to step in when someone knocked on the door.

They both watched as the door opened and Teddy walked in leading Blaise Zabini, composed and smartly dressed as ever, but his hands fidgeting with a briefcase in agitation.

"Potter," he acknowledged Harry with a nod, his eyes turning to Al and then repeating the gesture before focusing back on the Head of the DMLE. "I hear you're looking for my nephew?"

Harry's furrowed brow lifted in surprise. He glanced at Al, who'd stepped back from the flames and had every intention of putting his plans to leave on hold. Harry hesitated only a moment before turning back to their visitor with a sigh, and Al let out a relieved one of his own, grateful that he wasn't being sent away.

"We are," said Harry as Teddy closed the door, remaining in the room. "Do you have information?"

Blaise nodded. "He came by to see me yesterday around one in the morning."

"What?" asked Al in shock.

"But we spoke to your wife last night and she said you hadn't seen him," said Harry with a warning glare at Al.

"_She _didn't," said Blaise, "but she was unaware that I had."

Harry nodded. "Any particular reason you're just telling us this now?"

"Yes," said Blaise, and he resumed his nervous fiddling with the briefcase. "I also hear you're looking for Theodore Nott Jr.?"

There was a tense pause, and then Harry nodded again. Blaise let out a resigned sigh. "Perhaps it's best if we do this privately," he said with a pointed glance at Al.

"Not happening," Al snapped, but the look that his father shot him was becoming a little too familiar, and he knew there was nothing left to do but back off.

"Go to the hospital, Al," Harry said firmly. "I'll fill you in on what I can later."

After a few seconds of glaring at both of them in frustration and receiving an encouraging nod from Teddy, Al stepped into the still burning flames.

* * *

"Wait, so you're telling me that Theo might _actually _have something to do with this?"

It had taken immense effort for Scorpius to voice this question, but with everything his uncle had told him over the last half hour, it was one he could no longer avoid.

As soon as Pansy had told him that his uncle might know where Theo was, Scorpius Flooed to the home his aunt and uncle shared, straight into his uncle's office. Blaise Zabini was sitting at his desk and looked up in surprise at his nephew's sudden appearance.

"Scorpius," he said, checking his watch before looking up at him in confusion. "It's after one o'clock in the morning. I thought you were going to come say goodbye to your cousin tomorrow?"

"Yeah," said Scorpius, surprised for a moment at the reminder that it was now technically the last day of August. "I came to see _you_, actually."

His uncle looked at him in surprise for a moment before gesturing to the chair across from him and going back to the parchment on his desk. Scorpius waited patiently as Blaise made a few final marks with his quill before setting it aside and giving his attention to his nephew. His open and expectant expression turned to one of concern as he noticed the bruise on Scorpius' jaw.

"There was a break in at the Manor and I showed up in the middle of it," Scorpius said before he could even ask. "I'm fine, and Erin Longbottom was there at the time and she's mostly fine. The reason I'm here is because there've been quite a few break ins at old and wealthy wizarding homes and the Aurors have got it into their head that Theo is somehow involved."

He stopped to catch his breath and scrutinize his uncle's reaction. Blaise Zabini wasn't the warmest person, but he'd never been unnecessarily cold. He was, however, stoic and unreadable as he listened to Scorpius.

"I see," he said when his nephew gave no indication that he planned to continue. "I imagine that's a bit difficult for you to comprehend."

"Because it's not true!" Scorpius snapped. "I know Theo, all right? He wouldn't harm anyone."

"I agree," said Blaise, nodding and holding up his hands in a placating way. "I don't believe him capable of ever directly or intentionally harming anyone either."

His phrasing didn't sit well with Scorpius. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just that I could say the same about _any_ of us Scorpius," Blaise said calmly. "I don't believe _you're _capable of hurting anyone, but can you tell me that you never have?"

A guilty swoop went through Scorpius' stomach as the look on Rose's face as he walked away from her only a few hours ago flashed across his mind. But he brushed it aside. His words might have hurt her, but she'd hurt him as well. And now wasn't the time for him to sort any of that out.

"Look, I didn't come here to discuss your philosophies on life," Scorpius said impatiently. "I'm trying to find Theo. I have no clue where he went when he left town a few weeks ago."

Blaise's brow rose in question. "And you think I do?"

Scorpius nodded. "I went to see Pansy. She didn't know where he'd be, but said some bloke named Simon Vaisy and you were my best bets."

As his uncle nodded with his face pinched in contemplation, the feelings of confusion and even hurt Scorpius had felt when Pansy first said Blaise's name came sneaking back in. He knew that his father and uncle and godfather had all known each other in school and had grown closer once the war ended. Their closeness had remained up until Theo and Pansy had divorced, beginning the season of life they were now in where Theo only showed up when he pleased. And if Blaise and Theo had remained close as the years wore on, Scorpius had been ignorant of it.

Blaise continued to sit in silence, and Scorpius did his best to remain patient as his uncle studied him. What was he looking for? An ulterior motive? Was there a reason Theo lived under the radar? Would he be in some type of danger if people knew where he was?

Whatever the story was, Scorpius was now convinced that his uncle knew something. He just hoped he'd be willing to give up whatever information he had.

"Uncle Blaise, please," he finally said. "I just need to find him so we can clear this whole mess up."

Blaise stoically held his gaze for a few moments longer, but then all the rigid tension left him as he sighed and slumped back in his seat. And fear settled in Scorpius' gut as his uncle looked at him apologetically.

"I've always questioned why your father was never more upfront with you about all this," Blaise began cryptically. "Then again, I'm not even sure how much Draco knows about Theo's more recent...endeavors. Still, with what's been going on lately…"

He trailed off and looked at Scorpius uncertainly.

"Just tell me," Scorpius said with a sigh, resigned to whatever he was about to hear.

Blaise nodded, his expression regretful as he began.

"How much do you know about Theo's father?"

The story that Blaise had then proceeded to tell left Scorpius in grieved disbelief and confusion. Theo's father had conducted shady and even disgraceful business his whole life, some of which had been started by his own father or even a generation before. It included a number of dark practices and the buying and selling of goods and creatures that, much to Scorpius' frustrations, Blaise refused to discuss.

"I'm protecting you _and _Theo by not telling you," his uncle had insisted. "And he doesn't do everything his father did. He kept it all going at first, but I truly believe that it was more out of a sense of duty as well as feeling like he had no other option than any type of belief that what he was doing was in any way right."

He went on to explain that while Theo was involved in whatever business his father had left behind upon his death, Blaise was convinced that Theo wasn't the one now pulling all the strings.

"I've helped him with fudging some of the legal stuff over the years," Blaise admitted. "And no one knows about this. Not your aunt or your cousin or even your father. Theo came to me after the divorce before he left the country. Pansy had been doing a lot of the work on that end for him, so she's not as innocent as she pretends to be. Once their marriage was over, he needed someone else to help him get past all the Ministry restrictions on international trade. I'm not proud of everything I've done, but it's done. And I actually haven't been in touch with him since he left."

Scorpius shook his head to try and clear his overwhelmed mind. "So...so this Vaisey? He's involved with all this too?"

Blaise nodded. "But he left London as well, last I heard. They're pretty much equal partners at this point, but like I said, I have a feeling there's someone else that Theo is answering to, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's in some hot water with whoever it is. He seemed pretty skittish the last time he left town, like he was having to watch his back and that was the main reason he was leaving."

"Okay," said Scorpius uncertainly. "I still don't see how any of this has anything to do with the break in at the Manor."

There were a few moments where the only sound was the crackling of the fire in the hearth, Blaise watching Scorpius with pursed lips. "Back when he was working primarily out of London, Theo had access to a lot of the old Pureblood homes throughout the U.K. I'm not sure how, but he did. He even did a lot of his moving of goods through them. And if he really feels like he's in trouble with whomever is pulling the strings, I wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to clear up some evidence."

He couldn't believe it. There was no way that he'd been the one to not see things clearly. That sticking up for his godfather had been a mistake. That he'd been blinded by the trust he'd mistakenly placed in Theo Nott.

"Wait, so you're telling me that Theo might _actually _have something to do with this?"

"Yes," said Blaise. "I doubt he's done any of the breaking in himself, but his involvement is something I wouldn't be surprised to learn about."

Scorpius swore under his breath and buried his face in his hands. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

He stood abruptly from his seat, unable to sit still anymore.

"Scorpius?"

"You need to go to the Ministry," Scorpius said abruptly. "If they find out you were involved with all this...it could get messy, okay? They're looking really closely at Theo and it would be best for you if you just came forward with everything."

He didn't wait around to hear a response from his uncle. It didn't matter to him that his original understanding of the situation had changed. His conviction to find his godfather and fix this mess remained. If the Aurors were looking for Theo, there was no telling what type of force they'd use to bring him in if he resisted. If Scorpius could find him and fix this before that happened, he would. And he had one more lead to follow.

* * *

**A/N: Only a day later than I'd hoped to post! hope you enjoyed. I've finally been able to get ahead in this story and I'm very excited to share the next few chapters with you in the coming weeks! Thanks as always for reviewing and favoriting and following! I've had some wonderful support that has meant so much to me.**


	20. To where you want to be

They were prepping Erin for the procedure that she was both dreading and impatient to receive. If it worked, things would go back to normal, even if it was a normal she couldn't remember. If it didn't…

It felt strange to miss something she couldn't even remember having, but that's what it had felt like ever since she'd realized there was a whole year of her life she couldn't remember. A year of memories and experiences that she'd never get to have again. Unless they could reverse the damage that had been done to her mind. The Healers seemed fairly confident that they could, but Erin was determined not to get her hopes up.

She was trying very hard not to get her hopes up about a lot of things. Like having a certain childhood friend turned boyfriend visit her.

Albus Potter was her _boyfriend_.

The idea both terrified and thrilled her. She wasn't sure if those feelings came from waking up with no knowledge of their past, or if they had been there before she'd forgotten. She had somehow retained her feelings for him, which she knew hadn't been there before. At least not this strong.

It would probably be easier to figure out if he actually came to see her. The fact that he hadn't was confusing and driving her mad. Why hadn't he come in after talking to Rose the night before? It was hard not to let her mind wander to him, so she'd had a lot of time to think about how frustrated she was. How stable was their relationship if he couldn't be there for her?

"It'll last for a few hours and then you should sleep through the night," said the Healer that was setting up some sort of magical contraption that was shaped like a dome and would be lowered over her head. "You'll take a dreamless sleep potion first, so you shouldn't be under any mental distress as it happens."

Erin nodded, returning the tight grip her mother had on her hand.

"When should she be awake?" her dad asked.

"Whenever she's ready," said Healer Thomas. "If she's not awake after twenty-four hours, we'll take steps to help her regain consciousness."

There had been many moments of tense silence throughout the day, and this was another one. Erin didn't blame her parents for not knowing what to say. She found it difficult to find words as well.

She really hoped the new day would come with her memories intact.

The uncomfortable silence was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. That sound had caused Erin's spirits to lift all day, only for disappointment to find her every time it was someone other than the one person she really wanted to see. She loved her family and Rose, but it wasn't the same.

Erin hadn't even looked in the direction of the door as her dad went to answer it, but then her mother was hugging her and kissing her cheek, telling her they'd be there when she woke up. Hannah stepped away to make room for her husband, who came back to the bed and kissed his daughter's head before following his wife out of the room. And that's when Erin saw him.

The door closed softly behind her parents, but Erin's every sense was focused on Al. He was slowly walking towards her bed, a smudge of soot on his trousers and his hair probably in need of a wash. His expression was apprehensive and his eyes heavy with exhaustion as he watched her, neither of them paying attention to the two Healers in the room that were continuing to set up for the procedure. It wasn't until he stopped right beside her bed that Erin found her voice.

"Where've you been?"

Al scratched nervously at the back of his neck. "I've been helping out at the Ministry. They're working hard to figure out who did this and it's a bigger case than just what happened at the Malfoy's, so they're letting all the trainees help."

She'd barely given a thought to what had happened at the Manor, but that wasn't the news that stuck out to her. Erin couldn't help smiling as his final words sunk in. "You did it, then?" she asked. "You became an Auror?"

Al returned her smile with a relieved one of his own and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm working on it, yeah."

"Al, that's brilliant," she said, truly filled with happiness for him, her frustrations momentarily forgotten. Al was looking at her like he could hardly believe his luck.

"I'd actually sort of wondered if you really thought it was brilliant, or if you just came around to the idea when…"

And the hippogriff in the room was back again. Al swallowed nervously, looking away from her and focusing his attention on what one of the Healers was doing. It was a bit annoying that they were still in the room, but Erin doubted they would leave even if she asked them to.

"Where've you been?" she asked again. Al let out a deep breath before meeting her eyes with a sorrowful gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just… I've got no bloody clue what to say, you know? You're usually the easiest person for me to talk to, and I hate the fact that there are so many things I can't say right now."

Erin propped herself further up in her bed. "But…I know things are complicated, but we're friends, Albus. Why can't you-?"

"Because as far as you know, I'm the boy who you've known since we were both in nappies and shoves snow in your hair every Christmas Eve and throws you into the pool every summer," he blurted, anguish obvious in his voice. "I'm still that boy and I'm still your friend, but now I'm also the boy who loves you like crazy and even though you only see one of those versions of me, I can't separate one from the other anymore. You're the girl I grew up with and picked on and teased, but you're so much more than that now too. And it's so bloody hard to look at you and know that you no longer see me the way I see you."

There were tears in her eyes, shock filling her that Albus Potter was capable of saying anything so perfectly honest and vulnerable.

"What happened to the boy who ran from his feelings?" she asked in amazement. Al gave her a sad yet tender smile.

"You did."

Erin managed to hold back her tears, but still sniffed and wiped at her eyes. It was staggering to know something as simple as loving her had changed him so wonderfully. Or maybe it had been her loving him. He was still that same boy he'd described, but she could clearly see he'd become a man now too. And she hated the fact that she'd missed it.

"I still should've been here for you, though," he said apologetically. "No matter how hard this is for me, I can't imagine what it's like for you. I'm here for whatever you need. You know that, right?"

She _did _know. And more than that, she knew more than he thought she did. She might not remember everything and truthfully, hardly anything. Yet some things had stuck around, and he probably deserved to know.

"Al, I…" she choked out. "I know I can't remember what…what happened between us. But for some reason that I couldn't even begin to explain, I…I remember how I feel about you."

Hope filled Al's face, and he scooted slightly closer to her on the bed. "You do?"

Erin nodded, her tears threatening to fall once again. But their moment was ruined by Healer Thomas.

"We're ready to get started," he said, his tone soft as he addressed Erin. He then looked apologetically at Al. "I'm sorry, but you can't be in here for this part."

Al stood and nodded, seeming to be in a bit of a daze. Erin grabbed his hand at the last moment and he looked down at her with a tender and fearful expression.

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

She let out a sigh of relief when he nodded and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. There was still fear in his eyes, and Erin wanted desperately to pull him close and tell him it would all be okay, but the other Healer was adjusting her bed so she could lie on her back, and she was forced to let go of his hand. Al held her gaze for a few more moments before reluctantly turning to leave the room. Erin lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and taking deep breaths to steady her heartbeat.

"Erin?"

Her head snapped to the side at the sound of his voice. He was standing in the doorway, looking at her with obvious affection and devotion.

"I love you," he said strongly. "No matter what."

It was impossible to contain the smile that burst across her face, and it was the easiest yet scariest thing in the world to respond.

"I love you too."

* * *

Going into work on Monday morning was the last thing Rose wanted to do. Not when her best friend was in the hospital and her boyfriend was still missing.

If Scorpius actually _was _her boyfriend anymore. She'd had a hard time not worrying about that even amidst her fears for both Erin's health and Scorpius' safety. It felt selfish and possibly ridiculous, but it had been impossible to get the disappointed look he'd given her out of her head.

Still, the last thing she wanted to deal with was problems at work on top of everything else, so she even managed to get in on time that morning, despite her serious lack of sleep and the rainy conditions. She'd barely slept all weekend, finding it difficult to do in the flat by herself while Erin was still in the hospital. Most of her Sunday had been spent at St. Mungo's, but she and Ethan and Alice had left about an hour before Erin's procedure to give her some time with her parents. They'd promised to let Rose know when she woke up. She'd have to do her anxious waiting at the office.

"Rose, I need you to confirm Matthew Baker's book tour dates," said Mrs. Franks, shuffling out of her office as Rose took a seat at her desk. She was handed a list of locations and addresses and phone numbers. "It's one of our dual clients so get Rita to help you when she comes in."

"Okay," said Rose. Dual clients were authors who sold to both magical and Muggle audiences and typically came with the greatest amount of meticulous work. "Are accommodations taken care of?"

"No, and I'll need you to take care of that as well once you've confirmed with the venues. And you'll need to book three rooms at each stop."

Rose nodded, her eyes traveling down the list of about a dozen bookstores around the U.K, some with phone numbers and others with addresses. She'd be making a lot of phone calls and sending a lot of owls, which called for a lot of tea. With a sigh, she stood from her desk and made her way towards the kitchenette as her boss went back into her office. Rose closed her eyes and rested her hip against the counter as her tea steeped, thankful that the phones weren't ringing and the other two people she shared a workspace with weren't there yet, giving her a moment of peace.

The bell on the door chimed as she added cream and sugar, ending her temporary solitude.

Rita glanced anxiously around the room as she walked briskly in. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw Rose, who smiled in greeting and was about to offer her a cup of tea. But then Rita nearly threw her bag down on their shared desk and tossed her umbrella in the corner before plopping quickly into her chair. A moment later, she picked up the phone and immediately began talking into it without even dialing. Rose watched her in confusion as the door opened once again.

"Yes, that's right," said Rita, her eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her as Grant Turner walked in. The editor didn't look like he'd even bothered with an umbrella and seemed to be trying to catch his breath as he stood in the doorway. Even though his back was to her, Rose could tell he was watching Rita closely. It was impossible to ignore the tension in the room as Rita seemed determined not to acknowledge his presence, continuing to jabber away on her fake phone call.

Slowly, Mr. Turner took a few more steps into the room, shaking out his wet, short brown hair as he approached his assistant's desk.

"Yes, that's doable," said Rita, her voice rising in pitch when Mr. Turner stopped at her desk.

"Rita-"

"Rose, can you give me a hand?" she nearly hollered, causing her boss to jump and glance in the direction that Rita was looking. He stared at Rose with wide eyes for a moment, and then offered her an awkward wave before hastily moving into his office. Rita kept up her charade for a few moments after his door closed, but hung up the phone with a sigh as Rose approached their desk. She let out a groan and rested her head in her hands.

"What was that?" asked Rose, sufficiently distracted from her own problems as she sipped her tea.

"That was _horrible_," Rita groaned as the phone rang. "Can you take that?"

Rose handled the call, forwarding it to Mr. Bobbin as Rita managed to compose herself.

"So," said Rose, sitting back and sipping her tea, "are you okay?"

It probably wasn't the best idea to put off her work, but she needed the distraction of someone else's life. Besides, Danny - Mr. Bobbin's nephew and less than competent assistant - was likely to show up soon, and he was a notorious gossip. Rose could tell you the names of all his friends and acquaintances and who they'd either dated, slept with, or hated, even though she had no desire to know any of it. Rita had warned Rose very early on not to say anything personal in front of Danny that she didn't want repeated.

Plus, she and Rita got along well and they were starting to become friends, despite their six year age gap. Asking her how she was seemed like the friendly thing to do.

"Not particularly, no" said Rita, slouching back in her seat. "It's complicated."

Rose nodded. "Seemed that way. Am I going to have to run interference or do you plan on actually talking to him?"

Rita's cheeks turned a lovely pink and she pursed her red lips. "Well…," she said, squirming in her seat and nervously tucking a loose lock of dark hair behind her ear. "I don't suppose I can _completely _ignore him, but can you maybe make sure we don't end up alone together?"

Rose nodded, and then the implication of Rita's words hit her. She looked at her coworker with wide eyes."Wait, he didn't…_do _anything, did he?"

Rita looked at her in question for a moment before correctly interpreting the pointed look Rose was giving her. "Oh, no! No, he hasn't done anything inappropriate. I mean...I guess it depends on your definition of the word. Then again, _I _didn't exactly...well, anyway. No, he hasn't done anything...untoward."

She was nearly red by the time she finished her rambling, and Rose could only stare at her with wide eyes. Rita sat there grimacing for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh.

"Look, you can't tell anyone," said Rita, her expression serious as she spoke in a hushed tone. "I honestly don't know how much trouble either of us could get in. But nothing's really happening anyway, so…"

She paused, closed her eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.

"It really all started on your first day of work, actually," she began hesitantly. "You might not have been able to tell from how we acted when we got back, but that breakfast meeting went really well. So well in fact that I saw Gra - Mr. Turner genuinely smile for perhaps the first time ever."

Rose couldn't help it. Her jaw dropped in shock and her eyes widened. The closest thing to a smile she'd ever seen him give anyone was a reluctant smirk.

She also clearly remembered how out of sorts both Rita and Mr. Turner had been when they'd arrived at the office that morning.

"Anyway, I was really excited because he actually let me play a role in the negotiating, and I did really well," Rita continued. "But before I knew what was happening...Rose, it all happened so quickly and I shouldn't have let it, but we'd ducked around a corner so he could Apparate us and no one was around…"

Her face was in her hands again. "What happened?" Rose prompted softly. Rita let out a resigned sigh and looked up at her.

"He kissed me. Or I kissed him. I'm not really sure which anymore. I was just suddenly in his arms as he spun me off my feet in excitement and it...it just happened. Sometimes I'm convinced I was the one to do it, but then I also remember being so surprised by it. Either way, it shouldn't have happened no matter who did what. He's my boss and I'm a…"

She trailed off, biting her lip and looking nervously away from Rose.

"It's one thing to work with magical people, and I really do enjoy it," she said despondently. "But actually being in a personal and romantic relationship with a wizard? I feel insecure enough as it is when you lot talk about Hogwarts and growing up around magic and the most I can contribute is something I've heard my sister say or seen her do. I imagine it would be a lot worse if I were to actually be with Grant."

It was easy to forget that Rita was a Muggle. She fit in so well and even understood a fair bit about the magical world. The only times it became obvious was when she helped Rose with some of the Muggle aspects of her job.

"Anyway," Rita continued with a sigh. "I didn't think I'd have to make a decision about anything because we were both acting like nothing happened, but…"

"I'm guessing something happened this morning?" asked Rose.

Rita grimaced. "Last night, actually."

Rose listened in rapt attention as her coworker explained how she'd run into her boss at a bar the night before, how her friends had been more than happy to invite him and his friend to join them once they learned who he was, and how he'd cornered her at the end of the night to confess that he couldn't stop thinking about her, that he'd liked her for a while, and that he wanted to see what they could be.

"I couldn't get out of there fast enough," said Rita. "I had no idea what to say, no clue that he had any feelings for me whatsoever. There's also the fact that it's a horrific idea to ever date someone you work with, let alone your boss. You're just asking for trouble when you do that."

She huffed and crossed her arms, glancing uncertainly towards her boss's still closed door.

"What was all that about this morning?" asked Rose.

"Oh, we just ran into each other on the way to the office," said Rita. "I think we live fairly close to each other because it happens every now and then. He tried catching my attention but I obviously had other ideas."

Rose nodded. "Any clue what you're going to do?"

Rita shook her head. "Not one."

They sat there in silence as Rose sipped her tea and Rita continued to stare at Mr. Turner's office door, the rain beating a steady rhythm against the windows.

"Do you have feelings for him?" Rose couldn't help asking. Rita glanced at her, chewing her lower lip nervously with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I've been working for him for almost two years, and I'm not sure I even know him," she said. "How could I possibly have feelings for someone I hardly know?"

Rose didn't have an answer to this question. Everyone she knew in relationships were with people they'd known fairly well beforehand. And more often than not, they knew each other _very _well.

She was saved from trying to find an answer by Danny stumbling out of his uncle's office. He was half covered in soot, having Flooed in through Mr. Bobbin's fireplace, and his eyes were red and glassy.

"I've had it," Mr. Bobbin snapped, following Danny out of his office. "You've shown up here late and drunk off your arse one too many times, and I don't care if your mother hates me. You're fired."

Danny scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough. I've been trying to get you to fire me for weeks."

In the month Rose had worked at Bobbin's Books, she'd never seen anyone manage to fluster Jerry Bobbin. But his nephew had just managed it.

"Wh-what?" he spluttered, his grey mustache quivering. "You _wanted _me to fire you?"

Danny shrugged. "My mum wanted you to hire me because she hates the fact that I'd rather pursue art. And I couldn't just quit, because then she'd just keep pushing me to get a similar job somewhere else. I had to prove to her that I'm not cut out for this if I want a chance of her backing off long enough for me to prove I can do what I want."

Rose and Rita exchanged wide-eyed looks as Mr. Bobbin stared gobsmacked at his nephew.

"You couldn't have told me that from the beginning?" Mr. Bobbin asked. "There were other people who actually _wanted_ this job."

"Sorry," said Danny, not sounding like he truly was as he picked up his few personal items from his desk. "Give it to whoever you want, now. See you at Christmas!"

With a chipper smile at his uncle and a salute to Rose and Rita, Danny walked out of the office, whistling merrily as the bell chimed and the door snapped shut behind him.

Mr. Bobbin heaved a sigh and shook his head, running a hand through his silver hair before turning to Rose and Rita.

"Miss Garcia?" he asked, taking out a handkerchief to dab as his forehead. "Please tell Grant I'd like to see him in my office when he gets here."

"He's already here," Rita said quickly as Mr. Bobbin turned to go back to his office.

"Oh," he said with a furrowed brow before changing direction and knocking on Grant Turner's door. Rose had to bite her lip to keep from chuckling as Rita immediately began busying herself with the computer.

"Wonder who they'll get to replace Danny," said Rose as Mr. Bobbin closed Grant's door behind him.

"It won't be anyone _worse _than Danny, that's for sure," said Rita as Rose finally picked up the phone to call the first venue on the list for the book tour. "The amount of time he spent doodling at his desk makes a bit more sense now."

The next hour was relatively ordinary, except for the fact that Rose found herself glancing at the clock more often than normal. The day turned eventful once again when Mr. Bobbin came out of Mr. Turner's office about an hour after he'd entered it with one of Rose's former classmates in tow.

"Miss Garcia, Miss Weasley," said Mr. Bobbin before gesturing to the young wizard next to him. "This is Alec Turner, Grant's younger brother. He applied for Danny's job and would've gotten it if it weren't for my meddling sister. Thankfully, he's still interested in the job so we had him Floo in to talk it over, and he'll be starting tomorrow."

Rose felt foolish that it took until that moment to make the connection. No wonder Grant Turner had looked so familiar to her. Alec was practically a younger version of his older brother.

Despite his friendship with Devon Shepherd, who had made it a point to make it clear how little he thought of Scorpius up until the very end of their seventh year, Rose had never had a problem with her fellow Gryffindor. Alec was a good student and she'd even witnessed him going out of his way to be kind to the younger ones. It had come as a surprise to Rose when the position of prefect had gone to Devon instead.

A surprise smile bloomed across his face when he saw Rose. "Hey! I didn't know you worked here."

Rose returned his smile. "Yeah. Professor Bray got me the interview, actually, since he knows Mr. Tur - your brother. Sorry, I didn't make the connection until just now. I didn't even know you _had _an older brother."

Alec waived off her apology. "No worries. I try not to talk about him. He's a bit embarrassing."

Rose grinned at the playful smirk on his face as Rita muffled a snort behind her hand. Mr. Bobbin rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me regret hiring another member of this staff's family," he grumbled.

"No, sir," said Alec, giving Mr. Bobbin a firm nod. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity."

Mr. Bobbin scrutinized him for a moment before signalling for Alec to follow and heading into his office. Alec trailed behind his new boss with a quick smile and a wave at Rose and Rita.

"He seems nice. And cute," said Rita suggestively once the door was closed. Rose rolled her eyes.

"What happened to not dating coworkers? Besides, I have a boyfriend, remember?" she said, trying to ignore the pang that went through her at the thought. "And of course you think he's cute. He's the spitting image of his older brother."

Rita's cheeks turned bright red and she gave Rose a scowl, though it was obvious to Rose that she wasn't really mad and was maybe even amused by the comeback.

As hours passed and Rose heard nothing about either Erin or Scorpius, her anxiety grew until it felt like every single possible emotion she could have about both situations was just sitting right below the surface, stewing together and making her increasingly restless and nearly sick to her stomach. And whichever emotion decided to surface first was dependent entirely on whatever was just around the corner. Which was completely outside of her control.

Rose couldn't even bring herself to remain interested in the drama going on between Rita and Mr. Turner as the day wore on, not that anything of much note happened besides a few awkward encounters and lingering looks. From _both _parties. It was still raining as she headed home that evening, choosing to walk once again in an attempt to calm her incredibly heightened nerves. She didn't even try to shield herself from the rain. She was unable to use an umbrella charm as she walked through Muggle London anyway, and she chose not to wear her jacket, the cool rain refreshing as it hit her face and bare forearms. She'd probably take a bath when she got home, light a few candles, and hope it was enough to relax her. After first making Floo calls to the hospital and the Ministry, of course.

Even though she'd only done it once, Rose hated going back to an empty flat. Especially because of _why _it was empty. She trudged up the stairs absentmindedly, knowing she had a long night of failing to get a good night's rest ahead of her. Maybe she would try starting that new book her mother gave her. Or see if Dom was visiting Lysander. Or she would finally experiment with the new magic friendly mobile device her cousin Fred had given her to test out. Violet had one too. Maybe she could message her and see if she had any news about Erin.

With a tap of her wand, the front door unlocked, and Rose didn't even notice that a light was on in the flat until she'd stepped inside. She froze, knowing she hadn't left one on when she'd gone to work that morning. Halfway through doing a thorough scan of the state of the living room, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting on her couch.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I keep leaving you with cliffhangers but also not sorry! Thanks for the feedback as always! Quick shoutout to PrincessCecelia, chocoluvr, and Butterflies765 for your consistent reviews. Can't wait to hear what you think happens next! I'm getting better at weekly updates and I might get the next chapter up sooner if there's enough of a clamor for it. But that's also because I'm really excited to post it.**


	21. Why don't we break the rules already

**A/N: *hem hem* **

**Umbridge would not be happy with this chapter since boys and girls are not permitted to be within eight inches of each other. This is your obligatory reminder that this story is rated M. ****Carry on.**

* * *

Her bag and jacket fell from her hands, making a clatter as they hit the floor. Her grip on her wand tightened as she took him in.

His blond hair was disheveled and he looked like he hadn't slept in days, though he'd obviously showered and changed in the last few hours. He was wearing sweats and a t-shirt like he'd just come from training. He was also watching her closely, but seemed hesitant to act. Rose was unsure of what to do herself.

"Where the _hell _have you been?" she finally choked out. Scorpius sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and hold his head in his hands. He didn't say anything, and Rose managed to orient herself to the situation enough to act. She closed her front door, locking it and putting up a few extra security spells like she'd done the night before. He was still sitting with his head in his hands as she locked the Floo before placed her wand on the mantle.

"I was trying to find Theo," he said, a sorrowful note to his voice that she hadn't expected. "I went and saw Pansy, who told me to talk to my uncle and someone named Simon Vaisey."

Rose sat in the chair across from him with her mouth open in shock. "Your uncle Blaise?"

Scorpius nodded and raised his head, though didn't meet her eyes. "I went to talk to him after I saw Pansy, and then I went to Vaisey's sister's place in Wales early Saturday morning. She lives in a village on the coast and wouldn't talk to me, but managed to slip and say her brother wasn't home before she figured out why I was looking for him, so I know he usually lives there. I hung around the town all day to see if she or her brother or even Theo would show, and then rented a room at the inn across from her flat. I think I slept a little bit but I mostly just sat at the window and watched absolutely nothing happen. I finally realized how stupid I was being late last night."

His eyes held a swirl of emotions as he finally looked at her. She could see regret and disappointment and hurt and anger, though none of it was directed at her.

"I went to the Ministry to tell them everything I knew, but my uncle was already there," he said, his voice strained as he wrung his hands. "I think they're going to suspend me for going rogue and interfering with an investigation, but at least I'm the reason my uncle went to the Ministry in the first place. He gave them everything they need. First chance they get, they're arresting Theo."

Rose's breath caught in her throat, tears welling in her eyes and pain filling her on Scorpius' behalf. It was maddening that he'd been at the Ministry all day and no one had told her, but she found it didn't matter as much now that he was actually here.

His eyes were watery as he looked away from her, but the light shining across his angular features from the single lit lamp next to the sofa made it easy for her to see a tear drip down the side of his nose.

"Scorpius...I'm so sorry."

His eyes fell closed and he gave a subtle shake of his head. "You were right. Everyone was right, and I was the fucking idiot who decided to trust him."

Rose frowned at him. "You shouldn't blame yourself for that."

"Why not?" he said with a shrug. "_You_ do."

"_What?!" _said Rose, her mouth open in shock and her voice shrill.

"Don't deny it," he said, his eyes snapping to hers. "You said you couldn't trust him after seeing how often he'd let me down, and there's no way you don't think it was downright moronic of me to actually have faith in him."

"I never said that, Scorpius!" she insisted, standing from her chair as indignation shot through her. "You're right that I didn't trust him. The fact that he's hurt you made it very hard for me _not_ to be hesitant to trust him, but I _wanted_ to. I _hate _the fact that I was in any way right not to, because even if I wasn't able to trust him yet, I admired just how loyal to him you were. And I hope you can understand that as much as I wanted to feel the same way about him that you do for your sake, it's _you _that I'm loyal to, not Theo. So you can't expect me to say nothing when I think you're in danger of being hurt again."

She was now crying as Scorpius looked at her with an unreadable expression, but she couldn't stop now she'd started.

"And sometimes I feel like no matter what I do, you'll never fully trust _me_," she cried. "I know you're hurting, but I've done my best to be there for you and the minute I questioned your loyalty to someone who hasn't been, you walked away from me! And I can't tell you how much that hurt, because I did _nothing_ wrong. _You _were the one to make a mistake. Not because you trusted him, but because you ran off on your own, not trusting the people who love you to help you. After you said you weren't going to be running into danger on your own, you did just that."

Rose roughly wiped away her tears as they continued to fall, all those emotions she'd kept at bay for the past few days spiralling out of control as she sobbed out the question that had been eating away at her the most. "Why do you keep pushing me away?"

She knew she looked miserable as she waited, watching him imploringly, her face blotchy and her hair still damp from the rain. It was impossible to guess how he was going to react, because he'd been nothing but unpredictable to her the past few days. Even the past few weeks.

His eyes still held regret and pain, but it felt like where it was directed had changed. Rather than feeling those things for himself, he felt them for her.

"Rose, I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head as he stood from the sofa and moved towards her. "I'm so sorry."

She let herself sob as he pulled her into his arms, her hands fisting the front of his shirt as she cried into his chest. And he was crying too, shaking slightly as he held her tight. It was strange to think he'd only last held her three nights ago in the hospital, but that moment now felt like a world away. A lifetime had passed since then, but all the comfort she'd been seeking in the meantime was finally hers as his familiar scent and warm presence surrounded her.

"I...I hate the fact that he's completely betrayed your trust," Rose managed to say, her voice muffled against his chest. "But please stop being so flippant with mine."

If possible, he held her even tighter, one hand going up into her hair as the other pressed into her back. She could feel every inch of his chest against hers, and in spite of - or maybe because of - the heightened emotions of their current situation, excitement shot through her at the intimate feel of him.

"You scared me to death running off like that," she whispered, reveling in his heart beating strongly against hers and his ragged breath in her ear.

"I'm so sorry, love," he said, brushing a kiss above her ear. "I'm sorry I keep fucking everything up."

Rose shook her head against his chest, snaking her arms around his waist and bringing them even closer together. "You don't," she said. "But I know what's happening is going to make it harder for you to trust anyone, and if you can't...I don't know if I can do this if you can't-"

"Rose, I trust you," he said, pulling back only enough to be able to meet her gaze, his own was nothing but sincere. "I'm sorry I've given you so many reasons to doubt me when you've given me none to doubt you. You're...Merlin, you're-"

He cut himself off to kiss her, his lips dry yet salty from his tears. Rose had to hold back another sob as he poured himself into the kiss, feeling helpless to do anything other than completely lose herself in him. It was a much preferable feeling than dealing with all the intense and confusing emotions the night had brought forth. Plus, no matter how much he frustrated her or drove her mad, it didn't feel like there was any possible way she could stop loving him.

"You're so perfect," he pulled back to say. "And beautiful-" he kissed her quickly and soundly "-inside and out. And I'm the most unbelievably lucky moron who doesn't deserve you."

Rose pushed up onto her toes to kiss him again, her mouth nearly devouring his in an effort to show him just how wrong she thought he was. "Scorpius," she said breathlessly as she pulled away. "You deserve so much. Please believe that. Please let me...just let me love you."

His eyes were boring into hers, an adoration and fire in them that she'd seen before, but never this strong. Never this all consuming.

There was a new sense of determination present as he ducked down and brought his lips to hers in a mind numbing kiss. Rose could barely stay standing on her own two feet as he ran his hands up and down her back, occasionally gripping her shirt and causing it to ride up. A gasp of pleasure escaped her when his hands finally met bare skin, and he wound his muscular arms around her waist, nearly lifting her off her feet. Her tongue collided with his and tasted desperation and devotion and hunger. There was nothing quite like the taste of Scorpius Malfoy. Nothing like the feel of him wanting her.

When he pulled away so they could breath, there was a heat between them that Rose couldn't ignore, and found she didn't _want _to ignore. This was different than a snog in the hospital or the library, where things could only go so far. And just a week ago, it would've scared her and she would've fought to regain control of the situation, but there was something about everything that they'd been through the last three days that made her want to throw caution to the wind, because nothing seemed guaranteed anymore. Her own best friend was lying in a hospital bed and might never remember falling in love with her cousin. Scorpius had been in the hospital himself, and though not badly hurt, it just drove home the fact that they weren't impervious to the pain of the world. Anything could happen, and they had no control over it. So why control the things they wanted?

The next few minutes were a blur of kissing and groping and stumbling, but they somehow made it to her bedroom. They didn't even pause to turn the light on as Rose tugged Scorpius' shirt over his head and he responded by trailing kisses down her neck. It was still dusk, so she could vaguely see the defined muscles of his slim torso and couldn't help running her hands over his fair skin. Scorpius boldly slipped his hands under her shirt, doing his own exploration of soft flesh that left Rose's whole body a tingling mess. She lifted her arms as he worked the shirt up her torso before pulling his lips from her neck and tugging it over her head.

Her back hit the mattress a moment later, and then his lips were on hers once again. She was tempted to summon an ounce of control as his body hovered over hers, remembering that they'd said they'd talk about this before it happened, because there was no doubt in her mind where this was heading. But it now seemed childish that she'd wanted to plan it out. To control it. This wasn't about control. It was about loving and feeling and embracing what you had when you had it, because you couldn't necessarily trust it to be there tomorrow.

But she did trust Scorpius. Completely.

He sucked in a breath as she began working his trousers down his hips, and then he started trailing kisses down her neck, between her breasts, and across her stomach until he met the top of her skirt. After standing so he could kick away his sweatpants, he reached for it, pausing uncertainly before Rose grabbed his hand and directed it towards her hip. There was something significant about the sound of him lowering her zipper joining the harmony of their panting. It felt intimate and thrilling, but Scorpius didn't seem bothered with savoring the moment. He tugged down her skirt as soon as he could, and Rose felt her first flush of insecurity as he slowly crawled back over her, his eyes drinking her in.

He'd seen her in a bikini, but this felt different.

"So bloody gorgeous," he said breathlessly, before kissing her tenderly. Rose felt the flush of embarrassment fade from her face, and she wound her arms around his neck. She let the moment drag on, enjoying the fact that they were kissing in such a familiar way, but doing it with her in only her undergarments as she lay on her bed with a just as underdressed Scorpius Malfoy hovering over her.

Or maybe they were _over_dressed.

Thinking about it wasn't helping her nerves, which were there even if she remained determined to ignore them. Instead, she pulled him closer, willing him to lay more fully on top of her and let their bare skin meet. He seemed a bit reluctant, but Rose had to assume that was because he didn't want to crush her. Wanting to make her intention clear, she parted her legs and dragged her hands down his back until they were resting just above his boxers, and pushed down so his hips came in contact with hers.

The result of this was both shocking and thrilling. Scorpius hissed and bit down almost a little too hard on her lip, while Rose gasped at the feel of him pressed up against her. She hadn't expected it to be so..._obvious_ so soon.

"God, sorry," he said, dragging his lips across her cheek before burying his head in the mattress beside her and panting heavily. Rose turned her head and managed to kiss the tip of his ear, determined to not let him feel anything but confident in what was happening. Slowly, she rolled her hips up against his. He groaned and gave an experimental press against her pelvis in response, and then his restraint began to ebb away. His lips attacked her neck and were sure to leave a mark, the warring sensations of his mouth, his bare torso, and the insistent rolling of his hips almost too much to handle all at once.

Abruptly, Scorpius rolled off of her, and his sudden absence was so shocking that it made Rose gasp. But then a squeal of surprise escaped her as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, falling onto his back and dragging her with him so her legs were tangled with his and she was lying flat against his chest.

For a moment, he simply looked up at her, attempting to tuck her wild hair behind her ears as he scanned her features, studying and memorizing them. Rose sat back and ran her hands up his chest until she could plant them on the bed on either side of his head. She gave him a shy smile as he cupped her face, and he returned it with an almost disbelieving one of his own. His hands moved to her shoulders and then down her back as they continued to watch each other, and then there was a question in his eyes as his hands reached the clasp of her bra.

Rose gave a brisk nod, and after only a few seconds of struggling, he managed it, and the straps slid down her arms as the soft, purple garment fell from her chest onto his. She sat up to pull her arms free as Scorpius sucked in a breath, his eyes wide and making her shiver as he took her in. It was nerve wracking and thrilling all at once. She tossed the bra towards her dresser, and his hands were on her hips and moving up her stomach and cupping her breasts in seconds, and Rose let out a gasp of shock, her hands gripping his wrists as her heart pounded.

It was uncertainty and excitement and pleasure and awkward fumblings as he continued to discover her with his hands, and Rose pulled him up to kiss her just to find her bearings. It was exhilarating to know there was only one article of clothing left on each of them, and while she knew they were experiencing so many firsts at once, she wanted to keep going. She wanted all of them with him.

Scorpius' hands made their way up her neck and into her hair as he focused on kissing her, Rose unable to keep from occasionally grinding down into his lap, making it clear what she wanted.

"Rose," he murmured, the word like a prayer against her lips. "Rose, are you sure?"

A shiver went through her. Not because of the chill in the air or the feel of his skin against hers or the knowledge of what they were about to do. But because in those few words, she felt his love for her. She'd given him every sign that she wanted this, but he knew her, and he was proving it, giving her control of the moment and letting her know it was okay to make whichever choice she wanted. He was making whatever she needed to feel safe the priority. But she _did_ feel safe, and stopping was the last thing she wanted. And more than anything, she wanted him to know that she knew how much he loved her, and that everything he'd done out of hurt and frustration and anger the last few days no longer mattered. He was here, he was loving her, and letting her love him too. And she couldn't ask for anything more.

"Yes," she breathed. "I trust you."

It was as if those words flipped a switch in his brain. He looked at her with such love and desire, and she knew from then on, he'd do everything he could to prove he was worthy of that trust.

She was on her back again as he kissed her tenderly, his hands a bit shaky with nerves as they slid her knickers down her legs. He pulled back to finish the job and removed his boxers, and Rose closed her eyes and focused on regaining control of her breathing. She felt his eyes roaming over her entirely naked form as the bed dipped and he crawled back over her. He paused at varying points on his way up to drop kisses on her knee, her thigh, her hip, her stomach, a few across her breasts, and then up her neck. She'd never felt so adored.

"I love you," he whispered, and her eyes fluttered open as he kissed her jaw before finally meeting her lips. Rose ran her hands up his arms and around his neck, her fingers diving into his hair as she mustered up the courage to spread her legs and pull her knees up to cradle his hips.

She knew it would be uncomfortable and even painful for her at first, and she nearly cried in relief that Scorpius knew to make sure she was ready. Her body thrummed with pleasure as he took care to discover new parts of her, fumbling a few times but learning and muttering assurances and making sure she was okay as he reveled in the feel of her.

And the feel of _him…_Rose wasn't sure it was possible to put into words how right it felt, despite the initial discomfort and twinge of pain. There was something about being so completely vulnerable with someone who was doing the same with you, of crossing into a new understanding of what it meant to be _close_. It was awkward and messy and even terrifying at times, but all in ways that made her even more sure that being with Scorpius was the best thing she could ever do. The way he cared for her and damn near _worshipped _her with his whole self - body, heart, and mind - was overwhelming. And she poured everything into letting him know she was completely his, whispering in his ear that she loved him, rocking her hips with his as he gripped her hands against the mattress above her head, and staring deeply into his eyes as he fell apart around her.

There was no one else she wanted to love - no one else she ever wanted loving her - than Scorpius Malfoy.


	22. There's no stopping me

His eyes fluttered open, heavy with exhaustion from both lack of sleep and physical exertion. It had been a truly draining few days, but Scorpius didn't want to sleep. Not yet. Not when he was lying in bed with Rose Weasley for the first time.

He was still breathing heavily as he lay on his stomach beside her, having just managed to drag his limp and sweaty self off of her only moments ago. She was trying to catch her breath as well, lying on her back with her eyes closed and her hands still above her head. Not liking the fact that he was physically separated from her, Scorpius mustered the strength to reach out and trail his fingers over her stomach, which quivered under his touch as Rose let out a gasp. He could only grin and continue to touch her until she squirmed when he reached her rib cage. She reached down to interlock her fingers with his. There was a smile on her face as she rolled her head to the side to look at him.

"That tickles," she said as she rested their joined hands against her stomach. Scorpius just smiled innocently and brushed his thumb against her soft skin.

"Stop," she giggled, using their clasped hands as leverage to roll over and pull herself towards him. She let out a shiver as her legs tangled with his. Scorpius didn't even hesitate before sitting up and grabbing the blankets that had been pushed down to the end of her bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer as he lay back down, both of them now cozy under the covers.

It was still sinking in, what they'd just done. But there was plenty of proof to help continue to confirm his new reality. And as what they'd done continued to hit home, Scorpius grew nervous. What if Rose regretted it? She was lying naked in his arms and seemed perfectly content, but would she stay that way? He truly hoped she would. He had wanted to be this close to her for longer than he'd probably willingly admit, and all of it was far better than he'd ever imagined it would be.

"You feeling all right?" he asked, thinking she had to be based on the way she was looking at him so lovingly. But he had to be sure. He would hate himself if he'd truly hurt her or done anything that she hadn't wanted.

"I'm just lovely," she said with a sigh, her hand coming up to rest against his cheek. She scratched at the stubble that had popped up over the last few days, not having taken the time to shave when he'd showered back in the locker rooms.

That now seemed like ages ago.

"You sure?" he couldn't help asking, choosing to focus on Rose and the way she was now lightly tracing his cheekbone with the tip of her finger. He couldn't think about any of the rest. Not right now.

"I'm sure," she said with a reassuring smile, her hand now trailing down to his jaw. "I'm a little sore, but it was actually better than I expected it would be. For my first time, I mean. It was lovely. _You _were lovely."

Scorpius sighed, knowing things like this took time to get perfectly right, but as long as she was happy and content and safe-

_Shit!_

He sat up so abruptly that Rose jerked back in surprise.

"Rose, we forgot the charm!"

He stared down at her in panic, but she just quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"The Contraception charm!" he said, growing more horrified by the moment. He let out a groan and propped his arms on his knees, resting his forehead against them. _How could he have been so careless? _It had been drilled into him by his father and his godfather and even Professor Simpson when they'd had that very uncomfortable lecture on contraceptives during his fifth year. He'd even been unfortunately present for the talk Al got from _his _dad, thanks to some rather unfortunate timing and meddling on James' part. That had been a truly horrifying experience for both of them.

Bloody hell, her dad had been an Auror. A good one. He could kill Scorpius and make it look like an accident.

Scorpius was trying very hard not to completely fall apart in utter horror and shame.

The feel of a soft kiss against his bare back brought him out of his misery, but only just. Rose had sat up and was now resting her chin on his shoulder, running her hand up and down his spine in a very soothing manner.

"Scorpius, we're _fine_," she assured him, and dropped a light kiss on his lips when he looked at her in surprise. "I've been on the potion since I was fifteen."

His eyes widened in alarm. "What? Why?"

Rose's cheeks turned a bit pink and she tugged the sheet a little more snuggly around herself. "It can do more than just prevent pregnancy, you know."

He continued to stare at her blankly and Rose let out a resigned sigh.

"I was having some issues with my cycle and the potion helps sort that out. I take it regularly, so we're fine. Though it couldn't hurt to use the charm as well in the future. As an extra precaution."

Scorpius nodded, exhaling heavily and letting relief fill him. "Good. I'm still really sorry, though. Can't believe I completely forgot about that."

"It's fine," Rose said softly, her hand still lazily running up and down his back. "I've got no regrets about what just happened."

There was conviction in her eyes as she said it so he knew she was being honest, but Scorpius still couldn't help a bit of guilt creeping in.

"I told you we'd talk about it first," he said. "We sort of skipped that part."

"It doesn't matter," she said, shaking her head and resting a hand on his arms that were still propped on his knees. He linked his hand with hers. "If we'd planned it and over thought it…"

"You would've been in your head the whole time," he said with a smirk, realizing she was right.

"Exactly," she said, returning his smirk with one of her own. "And I, for one, very much enjoyed just being in the moment. With you."

A sigh of contentment left Scorpius and he rested his forehead against hers, letting his eyes fall closed. He'd meant what he'd said before. She really was perfect, and he'd been so stupid to let the hurt that someone else was inflicting come between them. He should know by now that he could trust her. He _did _know he could trust her, but acting on that trust had been an area he'd failed in a few too many times. He had absolutely no desire to do that again.

"I'm sorry I scared you," he said, keeping his eyes closed and allowing himself to breathe her in. "I shouldn't have run off like that. It was stupid and thoughtless."

Her warm breath caressed his face as she let out a heavy sigh. "I know you are, and you're forgiven. You just wanted to fix things and you were trying to help someone you care about. There's nothing wrong with that, so long as you go about it in the right way. I know you only ever have the best intentions."

Scorpius squeezed her hand, her goodness so staggering that he felt overwhelmed by it. Things were awful, and there would be many difficult and painful days ahead. But with Rose? There would be so many good ones. And anything he'd ever done to risk not having those days seemed so incredibly foolish. He was lucky that she hadn't given up on him yet.

It hadn't truly hit him just how much she loved him until he'd sat there, watching her cry as her hurt and frustrations poured out of her. Because there was an obvious unconditional love for him driving all of it. He wasn't sure he'd known what it even meant to be loved like that before then.

She was the reason he was still standing. The reason he wanted to continue to love and trust people. He couldn't imagine his life without her, either past, present, or future. He didn't want to. He wanted this - him and her - forever.

"Rose?" he whispered, knowing the words he was about to say were quite possibly not the most logical ones, but also knowing they were coming out anyway.

Rose squeezed his hand and gave a hum to indicate she was listening. Scorpius opened his eyes to see hers closed, a blissful smile on her face as her forehead still rested against his.

"Will you marry me?"

He was either half mad or half foolish or both, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Just like he'd expected, Rose's eyes flew open. Her jaw dropped as she pulled back to stare at him in shock, her eyes searching his face for clues as to whether or not he was being serious. She'd have a tough time finding anything but sincerity.

"I mean it," he said, his eyes boring into her slightly panicked ones with a calm assurance that he hadn't felt in a long time, if he ever actually had. "I love you and I want forever with you. And we might not have any guarantees on how long forever will last, but I _can_ guarantee that I'll spend every second of it doing everything I can to make sure you feel as loved by me as I do by you."

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, her hand on his back trembling and the other gripping his tightly.

"Scorpius, are you - are you sure about this?" she asked. "I mean, it's been a very difficult few days and - and what we just did probably means you're on a bit of a high right now. Are you sure you're thinking clearly?"

He nodded, lowering his legs and turning so he could face her. She continued to stare at him in shock and uncertainty as he dropped her hand and ran both of his own up and down her arms.

"I can't pretend that a lot of things aren't shit right now," he said, knowing he needed to acknowledge everything that was going on for both of them to know he wasn't just trying to find ways to numb the pain. "I'm likely to be suspended, my godfather is a wanted criminal, and my uncle could be facing charges for assisting him. My mum isn't doing all that well and this whole mess probably won't help that because my aunt will be in a state and I'm not entirely sure how much my dad is involved. And who knows what's going to happen with Erin. But Rose, I _do _know that through all of that, I want you with me. I know that's probably a lot to ask, but I want to be there for you too. Just like you've been there for me more times than I can count. Can you let me do that? For the rest of our lives?"

There was a very pregnant pause as he waited for her to say something - _do _something. But she just kept looking at him like she could hardly believe what he was saying, and he wasn't sure if she was appalled or thrilled. Was it too much to hope it was the latter?

"Rose Nymphadora Weasley," he said, slipping his hands into hers and looking her firmly in the eye as he summoned his last bit of courage, desperately hoping she wasn't about to turn him down. "I love you, and I'm always going to love you. So...marry me?"

There were still tears in Rose's eyes and one had even escaped down her cheek, but there was also clarity and love and something he had a strong feeling was joy.

And the same feeling welled up inside of him, replacing his fear as she nodded.

"Yes," she said breathlessly. "Yes and yes and-"

He kissed her soundly, nearly tackling her back onto the bed with the force of it. But her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and she held him to her, so even if he was crushing her, she didn't seem to mind.

_She was going to marry him!_

He could hardly believe he'd asked, but even more shocking to him was that she'd actually said yes. It was insane. _They _were insane. But he wouldn't change any of it.

Rose was giggling and clutching his hair as he started trailing kisses along her jaw. "Scorpius, this is mad!" she said through her laughter. "Completely mental! We're eighteen!"

"I don't care," he said, moving to kiss her neck before propping himself up to look down at her. "And you already said yes so no backing out."

Rose playfully rolled her eyes as he smirked down at her, but her expression turned serious a moment later.

"It's not too much to ask, you know," she said sincerely. "Being there for you. In fact, you don't even _have_ to ask."

Scorpius smiled and felt a warmth spread through him, knowing he could trust her to do exactly as she said she would. "Yeah," he said in wonder. "I reckon I do know."

She gave him a dazzling smile, her red hair a tangled mess and fanned out around her. But then she started giggling again, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head.

"This is just…" she said through her giggles. "We've only been together for three months!"

"Three and a half," he corrected with a chuckle of his own. She lowered her hands and rolled her eyes. "And I think all the years of friendship ought to count for something. Especially seventh year. We were dancing around this nearly the entire time, whether we wanted to admit it or not."

Rose shook her head in exasperation, but it was obvious she was pleased. Even as she looked for another reason that this was an insane idea.

"You don't even have a ring!"

Scorpius frowned at this realization, but then a full smile burst across his face and he ducked down to kiss her once more before quickly rolling off of her and crawling out of the bed. He began digging through his clothes and paused to pull on his boxers and toss his t-shirt at Rose, who sat up and watched him curiously. Scorpius could only continue smiling at her as he pulled his wand from the pocket of his sweatpants and joined her on the bed, giving it a quick flick to turn on the lamp in the corner and bathing them in soft, warm light.

He sat cross legged in front of her as she tugged the ends of her hair out from the collar of his t-shirt, and the love he felt for her clobbered him once again at such a simple thing. He thought hard to remember the wand movement his mother had taught him last summer while Rose watched him expectantly.

With a deep breath and careful concentration, he managed it, and Rose's hand flew to her mouth with a gasp as a small black box appeared in his hand.

"Scorpius…" she said, her eyes dancing between his face and his hand. "Where…?"

He smiled and set aside his wand. "When I became of age, my parents gave me some of my inheritance, which included this."

Rose's eyes were wide as she watched him pry open the box, and her mouth opened in awe when she saw the shining emerald ring. There were two diamonds on either side of the oval cut green stone and it was set in silver. Scorpius had always been thankful that it was elegant rather than gaudy like so many other old family rings, the gems brilliant but not too large. His mother had worn the exact same ring up until his seventeenth birthday, but Pure-blood tradition was that as soon as there was another male heir of age, the ring was passed on. Scorpius had found this to be obnoxiously sexist and didn't like the fact that his mother hadn't been allowed to keep it, but she'd assured him that it was a sacrifice she was willing to make to keep peace with his grandmother, and that whomever Scorpius decided to give it to wouldn't have to do the same if she didn't want to.

He hadn't been expecting to give it to anyone so soon, even though he'd briefly considered how it would suit Rose the first time he'd seen it. And they hadn't even been dating yet.

The thought made him even more certain he was doing the right thing.

"Scorp, it's beautiful," said Rose, her eyes meeting his as he plucked the ring from the box. He slipped it onto her finger and it magically adjusted to fit, looking quite at home on her lightly freckled hand. Scorpius felt like he would never stop grinning as he lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

"This is still mad," said Rose, shaking her head as he pulled her close. She settled onto his lap, her knees hugging his hips and her hands cupping his face. He grinned even brighter at the feel of cool metal against his cheek. "Our families are going to go spare."

Scorpius swallowed nervously, his smile shrinking. He honestly hadn't given that part much thought.

"And there's a lot going on right now," she continued, looking almost apologetic.

"You think we should wait?" he asked. "To tell them?"

Rose nodded. "Just for now. Not for any reason other than the fact that it's not the best timing with everything else happening. Plus, I'd like my best friend to be able to remember us falling in love before I tell her I'm marrying you."

His grin was back immediately. "Merlin, it's brilliant to hear you say that."

"What, that I'm marrying you?" she said teasingly. Scorpius' cheeks were beginning to hurt with how much he was smiling. It was even hard to keep from doing it as he kissed her, their embrace slow and sensual as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands running up and down her sides as she arched into him.

"When?" he asked between kisses a few minutes later.

"When what?" asked Rose, dropping a kiss on his chin. He grinned and kissed her on the nose.

"When do you want to get married?"

Rose sat back a bit, a look of serious concentration on her face as her fingers tapped absentmindedly against his bare chest. "Well, I'm not really sure. Would you be happy with a long engagement or were you more hoping for a 'let's do this as soon as we can' type of thing?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I'll be happy with whatever you're happy with. I just want to marry you. I'm not too arsed about how or when."

For some reason, his words had Rose looking uneasy.

"What?" he asked. Rose sighed and ran a hand through her rather tangled hair.

"It's just…only a few weeks ago, you were saying that things weren't that serious with us yet. That you wanted a future but there was no need to rush anything. How do I know you're not going to panic on me and change your mind?"

Scorpius sighed, knowing she had every right to worry about this after what he'd said that night. Even if she did trust him. "You told me that living in fear of pain and heartbreak was a pretty silly way to live. And you're right. I'm well aware that the crazy amount of love I have for you means you have the power to completely destroy my heart, but I wouldn't be trusting you if I let that fear control me. And I want to trust you completely. I _do _trust you completely. So why should we wait when we both know this is what we want?"

Her concern melted a bit at his words, but not entirely.

"This _is_ what you want, right?" he asked, suddenly feeling a bit uncertain, but it didn't last long.

"Yes, of course it is," she assured him, her hands running soothingly up and down his chest. "And I said I trust you and I do, but this is all so sudden. I think it's more that I can't believe you actually asked me to marry you than it is that I'm scared you'll change your mind."

She'd ducked her head down, growing timid. Scorpius tucked his finger under her chin and tilted her head up, meeting her vulnerable brown eyes with a look that he hoped conveyed all the love he had for her. "And I can't believe you actually said yes. That you actually want to be with me. I don't take that for granted for a second, all right? There's no way in hell I'm ever changing my mind."

Rose gave him a loving smile, finally seeming to be at ease. "Good. I'm not changing mine either."

She leaned forward and kissed him lightly, her hands going up to his shoulders and rubbing them soothingly as she rested her forehead against his. They sat there in a wonderfully peaceful silence, soaking in the moment until Rose shifted her gaze to her left hand and lifted it from his shoulder.

"I wish we could just tell everyone," she said a bit wistfully, sitting back as she examined her ring. "I really don't want to take this off."

Scorpius reached for her hand and held it in his own as he grabbed his wand. He tapped the ring and it disappeared. Rose looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Glamour charm," he said. "You can see it, but no one else can. All you'll have to do is tell someone and they'll be able to."

Rose seemed impressed as she looked back down at where Scorpius knew the ring to be on her finger. "So, all I have to do is say I'm engaged and it pops up?"

Scorpius shook his head. "You have to say it's me. It's a rather loyal ring."

Rose rolled her eyes but seemed amused. "Fine. I'm engaged to Scorpius Malfoy."

And there was his grin again as the ring reappeared on her finger. He slipped his fingers between hers and lifted her hand to kiss the back of it once again. "I could get used to hearing you say that."

Rose giggled and squirmed in his lap, which didn't help him keep his mind off the fact that she was still rather bare underneath his t-shirt. "I could too."

She kissed him again, pulling her chest flush with his and almost immediately slipping her tongue into his mouth. Scorpius sighed in pleasure, his hands wandering up under the t-shirt and trailing along her soft skin. This only encouraged Rose, and she reached a hand down to tug at his boxers.

"Wait," he said, abruptly pulling his mouth away from hers. "Aren't you too sore?"

Rose nodded. "But it's not like that's the only thing we can do."

She seemed a bit nervous but still determined, so he gave her an encouraging smile and kissed her again, needing the distraction himself as anticipation shot through him.

But whatever he'd been anticipating was stopped short by the sound of the Floo chime. Rose broke away from him with a start, her eyes wide in panic.

"Shit!" she hissed, climbing off of him and immediately searching for her own clothes.

"Isn't it locked?" he asked, choosing to remain in the bed for a moment as his excitement wore off.

"Yes, but that's probably about Erin," said Rose, pulling on a clean pair of knickers and turning her back to him before pulling off his t-shirt. He forced himself to look away not just to give her some privacy, but because seeing her like that would do nothing to help his current predicament.

"Unless it's for you," she said. "Does anyone know you're here?"

He nodded and looked back at her when he recognized the sound of her fastening her jeans. "Your uncle does. So does my dad. I was with them at the Ministry before I came here."

"Right, wait here," she said, running her hands through her hair in an effort to calm it. "I'll holler if I need you."

Scorpius collapsed back on the bed as she hurried out of the room and the real world came crashing down around them. But he was grateful that it didn't feel quite as heavy as it had before.

He'd managed to roll out of bed and get dressed by the time Rose finished with the Floo call.

"That was Alice," she said as she came back into the room, grabbing a pair of socks from a basket of clean laundry before beginning to rummage around the floor of her closet.

"Is she awake?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes," said Rose as she pulled on the socks and then a pair of trainers. There was a shake in her voice that had Scorpius' heart sinking. "She's awake."

Tears were gathering in her eyes as she stood, looking helplessly at Scorpius. "Does she…?"

Rose's lower lip was quivering as a soft cry escaped her. She shook her head. Scorpius cursed under his breath before crossing the room and taking Rose into his arms. She gripped him tightly as she shook with silent tears.

"They'll try again," said Scorpius. "They have to try again, right?"

Rose shook her head against his chest. "No. They're not going to try again."

She fell silent as the new reality sunk in, and then sobbed out the truth that they'd been terrified to hear.

"There's nothing they can do."

* * *

**A/N: So, that happened. And don't get too mad with me about the ending. Hang in there! Things sometimes get worse before they get better.**

**Thanks as always for your continued reviews! I know some were expecting to hear from Erin next, but you'll have to still wait a bit for that. Also, I had a guest review express their concern for Al and that he seems emotionally stunted. If this is a common opinion, it was not my intent! and while I hear what you're saying, I wouldn't completely agree. As you said, he and Scorpius are both growing, but Al doesn't seem to be learning his lessons the way Scorpius is. First, they are different people so of course they respond differently to things. Second, I would argue that before now, Al hasn't dealt with things as heavy as Scorpius has, so it makes sense that he might be a bit behind Scorpius in learning how to deal with stuff like this. Also, I hope the next chapter helps you see a more mature side of Al. I understand that it's up to readers to make their own interpretations of things, but I also want to do my best to get things across in the way I intend.**

**Sorry to ramble, but I wanted to respond to a review that I appreciated for both the honest feedback and the time it took to write it.**

**See you next week! Unless I can't wait. Then it will be sooner. Hope you are doing well and staying safe and loving people.**


	23. Life is very short

He needed to hit something. Or throw something. Or scream.

But storming out of Erin's hospital room wouldn't be fair to her. Especially when she looked even more devastated than he was.

"Why?" she asked, tears in her eyes and her arms crossed as she glared at Healer Thomas. "Why can't I remember?"

Dean looked at her with the patient understanding that could only come with years of experience. "Things like this aren't an exact science, and there is a chance you still will," he assured her. "It's possible your mind was affected by the combined spells more than we thought, or the trauma of what happened is just blocking things. It might just take some time."

Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hand reaching out to grip her mother's.

"Just take a minute to think," Violet said soothingly. "Is there anything that seems fuzzy or confusing? Like flashes of things or feelings or-"

"Yes," she said, her eyes snapping open. They searched through the crowd of people around her bed until they landed on Al. "But I was having that before the treatment."

Healer Thomas nodded, glancing at Al as well. He'd acted like he wasn't listening, but he was probably remembering the conversation Al had with Erin just before her procedure as well. "Then I'd recommend digging into those as best you can. Do things that will help you explore those areas a bit more. It might help jog your memories. We've seen these things take time before. There's no reason to give up hope."

Erin let out a shaky sigh and nodded at the Healer. Al had been there most of the day, waiting by her bedside with her parents and siblings and focusing solely on Erin, everything happening at the Ministry forgotten. But he'd hung back since she'd woken up, not wanting to overwhelm her and also fearful that she wouldn't be okay. After hearing Dean's advice, however, he was done keeping up any type of pretense.

He'd said he'd love her no matter what, and he'd meant that. There was no way he was going to let her do any of this alone.

She watched Al as he made his way towards her bed, sitting on the edge of it and effortlessly taking her free hand in his.

"Should she go home, then?" he asked the Healers. "She hasn't lived there very long. It could help, right?"

Violet nodded and smiled. "It definitely couldn't hurt."

"All your vitals look good, but we'll send some pain potions with you in case you have problems with your head again, and you'll have weekly checkups until we're sure you're in the clear," said Dean. "If you'd like to go home, we can get you discharged tonight."

Erin looked uncertainly at her parents, and her mother nodded encouragingly.

"Okay," she said. "Home sounds nice."

Dean left to get started on discharging her and Violet went to get her potions, leaving Erin with Al and her family.

"Rose should be here soon," said Alice as she came back into the room. "I explained the situation and she insisted on coming."

Erin smiled. "Sounds like Rose. Always wanting to be useful and fix things."

Her family smiled at her. "Will you be okay tonight?" asked her mother. "Do you want me to come with you?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "No, you heard them. Back to as normal as possible is probably a good thing. And I'll have Rose. She'll bend over backward for me even if I don't need her to."

This seemed to reassure Hannah, who gave her daughter a tender smile and stood before kissing her on the cheek. "I'll come by tomorrow to check on you, okay?"

Erin nodded. "Thank you. You all should get home. Rose will be here soon and she can get me where I need to go."

They seemed reluctant, but listened to her suggestion. Throughout all their goodbyes, however, her grip on Al's hand stayed firm. Not that he needed the encouragement to stick around. He wasn't going anywhere.

Ethan was the last to leave the room, pausing to tell Al he'd let him know the minute the Ministry had any news of Scorpius.

"Thanks, mate," said Al. "Just Floo Erin and Rose's place. I'll probably be there for a while."

Ethan nodded and was about to leave when Erin called out in a mockingly cheerful voice, "Goodnight, Ethel!"

The scowl Ethan sent his sister was too affectionate to be believable.

"That's what he gets for calling me Ernie," she said smugly as her brother left the room. Al shook his head in amusement, grateful for any moment he got a glimpse of the Erin he was used to, rather than the terrified one that had been in the hospital for three days.

The silence that followed the departure of her family was calming. He'd expected it to be a bit tense with so many questions and uncertainties hovering around them, but there was also something freeing about the fact that they could just move forward, even if it wasn't down a path either would have chosen.

"You sure you're up for leaving?" he asked. Erin looked at him with weary eyes and nodded. She grew nervous a moment later and seemed to be struggling internally. Before she could manage to get out whatever it was, there was a soft knock on the door and it opened a minute later to reveal a red eyed Rose and-

"Scorp!" Al nearly shouted, standing from the bed and hurrying across the room. Rose stepped aside just in time, leaving room for Al to pull his best friend into a rare hug. "I'm so sorry," he said as Scorpius hesitated only a moment before hugging him back. Al pulled away and braced his hands on his best friend's shoulders. "I shouldn't have sprung that on you like that and I probably shouldn't have kept it from you in the first place."

"Al, it's okay," Scorpius said sincerely. "You told me when it mattered."

Al had a hard time agreeing with that, his father's words ringing in his ears as he released his hold on his friend and looked at him questioningly.

"I wouldn't have gone to see Pansy and she wouldn't have led me to Blaise and Vaisey if you hadn't said anything," said Scorpius. Al nodded, remembering how his friend's uncle had shown up at the Ministry the night before.

"Turns out everyone was right to be suspicious," said Scorpius. "Theo's been carrying on the work his father did before him, and Uncle Blaise helped him get through some legal barriers. He went to the Ministry with everything he has on Theo last night after I asked him to."

Al grimaced but Scorpius merely shrugged. "It's no one's fault but his own. And I'm not going to waste time being miserable over it."

His eyes went to Rose, who was now sitting next to Erin on her bed, both of them with tears in their eyes and talking quietly with each other.

"You two make up?" Al asked, not really needing to ask the question but not sure what else to say.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, a smile flickering across his face as he continued to watch Rose. "I was an arse and she was just trying to have my back. She's incredible, yeah?"

Al looked at his obviously love-struck best friend uncertainly. "Er...yeah, I suppose so."

"Scor?"

It was almost comical how quickly he made his way to Rose's side. Al followed in bewilderment. He'd been sure that things would be a bit tense between Rose and Scorpius for at least a little while, but that seemed to be the last thing they were. The smile Rose gave her boyfriend through her tears didn't hold any unease, and there was a new confidence in the way Scorpius immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders when he reached her.

Something was different.

"They said she can go home," Rose explained. "And that she might still remember things but it could just take time. There's already a few small things she can remember."

"Really?" asked Scorpius as Al reached Erin's side once again. She nodded.

"It's not so much moments as feelings," she explained. "Like with Gran. In my memory, I only lost her a month ago, but emotionally, it doesn't feel so fresh. And there are other things too."

Her cheeks were a bit pink as she refrained from explaining what else she remembered, but Al didn't even have to guess what it was. She might know how she felt about him, but she still wasn't used to talking about it.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Scorpius.

"Well, the Healers said that I should hone in on those things and try to be around places and people that could help me remember more."

Rose nodded before looking at her cousin. "Al, you should stay."

He looked at Rose in confusion. "Umm...I am staying?" he said uncertainly.

"No," said Rose with a roll of her eyes. "You should come stay at the flat."

Al looked at Erin to gauge her reaction. There was some hesitancy in her expression, but she was reaching out to hold his hand a moment later.

"I'll have to clear it with the trainers, but it shouldn't be a problem," he said in relief. "They might even want me to take a little time away since I'm so close to the case and everyone else is working on that anyway. Might still have to do some studying, though."

Erin and Rose both looked relieved at this news, and all four of them were heading back to the girls' flat as soon as Violet returned with Erin's potions and discharge papers.

"It smells familiar. Is that weird?" Erin asked as she took in the flat she shared with Rose.

"No, it's a pretty constant thing so I'm not surprised," said Rose with a smile. "We think our upstairs neighbor grows some sort of plant on his balcony that makes it smell like that."

Al had never really noticed before, but now that they'd mentioned it, there was a sweet smell to the air that he'd never registered.

"Anyone else hungry?" asked Scorpius as he made his way into the kitchen. Rose followed as Erin continued to take in her surroundings. Al stuck close to her side.

"I'd actually kill for some of Mum's shepards pie," said Erin.

"We can go pick some up," Scorpius hollered from the kitchen, and he and Rose came back out and began putting their shoes back on. "The kitchen at the Leaky Cauldron should still be open. Want anything, Al?"

He nodded. "I'll have the same."

"You okay if I…?" Rose asked Erin hesitantly, jerking her head towards Scorpius.

"Sure," said Erin, though her smile was a bit nervous. Rose either didn't notice or wasn't bothered by it, because she was taking Scorpius' hand a moment later and they were heading out the door. But not before she could shoot a meaningful look at Al. Which meant she was leaving them alone together on purpose.

This time, the silence was awkward.

"I kind of want to shower," said Erin, her voice a bit stilted as she inspected the ends of her admittedly greasy blonde hair.

"Sure, yeah," said Al, determined to be nothing but helpful. "I'll just show you-"

"I'd like to see if I remember, actually," said Erin. "Plus, how hard can it be to figure out?"

She gave him a hesitant smile, which Al returned. He was slightly surprised that she took his hand and began leading him down the hall. She froze for a moment before picking the correct door, leading them into her bedroom.

"Oh, sorry," she said, turning to Al with wide eyes as if just realizing what she was doing. "You can go wait on the sofa, if you'd like."

"It's fine," said Al. "I've been in your room before."

He barely had time to see Erin's cheeks turn bright pink before she turned and headed further into the room. "Right. Of course," she said, beginning to search through her dresser. Al sat on the bed and watched her, unsure what he needed to say or do to ease whatever was making her so nervous.

"Do you want this back?" she asked, plucking at the neck of the jumper she was wearing, her arms full of clothes.

"Oh," said Al, registering for the first time that the one she was wearing had been his. "No, you...you really like that one, so I let you keep it."

Her eyes searched his for a moment before she nodded, hesitated in the doorway, and quickly left the room. Al covered his face with his hands and groaned as he fell back on the bed.

This was going to be so fucking hard.

What even were they to each other now? She said that she loved him, so she at least remembered that much. His dad had been right that there were some things a poorly cast memory charm couldn't take away. But did that mean she wanted to still be together? Did it mean that they were?

He didn't want to have that conversation because he was terrified of what one possible option was. But they had to. They couldn't do this awkward skirting around of everything.

The sound of the shower turning on and the curtain being pulled reached his ears, and he was disgusted with himself for letting his mind wander to images of Erin on this very bed and less than fully clothed not so long ago.

That was something he definitely needed to shove far to the back of his mind right now.

"Al?"

Her nervous voice echoing in the bathroom had him sitting up, his wand in his hand as he quickly made his way down the hall.

"Erin?" he called, rapping his knuckles against the closed door. The water was still running, but Erin opened the door, wrapped in one of the dark green towels he remembered her picking out before she and Rose moved in. But he was more concerned with the frightened look on her face.

"I...I haven't really been alone since it happened," she said. "And even though I can't remember it…"

"You're scared," he said. It wasn't a question. She looked terrified of so much as closing the door and being unable to be sure of his presence. Her dragging him to her room and hesitating before leaving it made sense now.

"Can you...can you just sit in here?" she asked hopefully. "Just knowing you're there will help, I think."

Al didn't have to even think before nodding. She opened the door all the way in obvious relief, and Al closed it behind him and even locked it to help her feel more secure before stowing his wand in his pocket. There was an uncomfortable moment as she stood there fiddling with the edge of the towel, and then Al was quick to turn around. He didn't move until he heard the shower curtain tugged shut. With a sigh and now putting in even more effort to not think about his naked girlfriend, he turned back around and sat in front of the door, his eyes closed and his head resting against it as he grew warm with the steam from the shower.

"Al?" she asked softly, as if making sure he was still there.

"I'm here," he said, keeping his eyes closed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he assured her. "Would talking help?"

She hesitated. "Maybe. Not sure what to talk about, though."

There was an edge of humor to her voice, and it warmed Al to hear it. Yes, things were awful, but they still needed to find ways to smile. They could talk about this and figure out how to make it okay.

"Well, do you have any questions?" he asked. "I'm sure Rose filled you in on just about everything."

"She didn't, actually," said Erin. "She told me some, but I didn't really feel like hearing everything. Especially if I was going to remember it all on my own anyway. But now…"

Al cleared his throat uncomfortably. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy to talk about as he thought. "Well, you still might," he said encouragingly, "but they said talking about things might help, yeah?'

"Right," said Erin, her tone sounding nervous once again. He could tell she already had something she wanted to ask, but he had a feeling she wouldn't get there without his prodding.

"What is it?"

She let out a sigh. "Al, have...have we…?"

"Have we what?"

Erin groaned in frustration, and he could clearly imagine her clenched fists and tightened jaw. "Have we had sex?"

Al gulped, squeezing his eyes even more tightly shut. "No," he said. "No, we haven't."

He heard her give an obvious sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin."

He tried very hard to not let that bother him.

"But you've been in my bedroom?" she asked, now seemingly more comfortable with the topic of conversation. It probably helped that they couldn't see each other.

"Yeah," he said. "We've, uh, fooled around a little bit. Nothing too intense, but..."

There were a few moments of silence, and then, "Oh."

Al had no clue what to say. He knew he needed to be strong and supportive and help her work through all this, but it was hard to not be stung by the fact that she was disappointed they'd been intimate together in any way.

"Have you seen me naked?"

The question was so blunt that it had Al's eyes popping open. "Er...only partially."

Uncomfortable silence reigned once again.

"Do you…" he began uncertainly. "Do you actually want details, or…?"

He waited for her to answer, unsure if he wanted her to say yes or no. But she didn't say either. And he was shocked to hear the sound of her softly crying a moment later.

"Erin?" he asked in concern, standing and taking a step towards the shower. Not that he could actually do anything. "Love, what's wrong?"

She let out a groan of misery. "Don't say that, please."

"What?"

"Just...don't call me '_love'_."

Her words felt like a punch to the gut, but he had to push through it for her. "Okay."

This only made her cry harder. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just _hate _this."

Al closed his eyes, breathing deeply and trying to control his racing heart.

"I hate that I can't remember everything I've shared with you," she said sorrowfully. "You've been so - so sweet and you're probably hurting too, but hearing you say that just reminds me of everything I've missed and I...I just wish I could fix this."

A heavy sigh escaped Al and he leaned against the wall. "I know," he said. "I do too."

He stood there while she calmed down, sniffling softly as the water continued to fall. She shut it off a moment later, and Al automatically turned to face the door again.

How they were going to get through the rest of the evening let alone forever was lost on him. He wanted to tell her it would all be okay and comfort her and hold her and kiss her, but he couldn't. It had been difficult to hold back, but after that first night in the hospital where he'd kissed her before knowing she couldn't remember and then held her till she fell asleep, doing anything like that didn't feel right. Not when it was the most natural thing in the world to him yet so unfamiliar to her.

At least she didn't seem to be disappointed that they'd been together, just that she'd missed it.

After a few minutes where he tried not to listen to the sound of her getting dressed, delicate hands rested against his back, and he nearly collapsed in relief. Her slender arms wrapped around his waist a moment later and she rested her head between his shoulder blades, her damp hair soaking through his shirt. She'd put his jumper back on, and Al smiled as he rested a hand over hers.

"Al?"

He merely hummed in response.

"Can you kiss me?"

He turned in her arms to face her. She was nervously biting her lip and her eyes were a bit red from her tears, but she didn't pull away, her hands now pressing against his back and his own caressing her arms.

"Why?" he asked, kicking himself a bit for hesitating, but knowing it was important.

"Because I can't remember it," she said softly, her eyes flickering to his lips before meeting his gaze again. "I mean, you did the other night, briefly, but...I barely remember that and it was before they tried to jog my memory. I'm supposed to be focusing on the things that I _do_ remember and seeing if I can get myself to remember more, and the first thing I thought of when I saw you after I first woke up in the hospital was how much I...how much I love you. But I can't remember what it's like to be with you. And I want to."

Al took a few calming breaths, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo, his eyes drawn to her slightly parted mouth as he moved his hands up to her shoulders and then to her neck. Her hair was wet against the back of his hands, cooling and calming him a bit. She licked her lips and watched him in anticipation, and Al brushed his thumb along her jaw before ducking down to kiss her, his mouth softly meeting hers as a soft gasp escaped her.

He had to remember that this was new to her, and he needed to take it slow.

But then she was suddenly kissing him like there was no tomorrow, her lips moving eagerly against his as he struggled to keep up at first. And then they were falling into a familiar rhythm, one that Al had been afraid to want again. He tangled his hands in her wet hair, trying not to over think what he was doing but knowing anything he could do that he'd done before could help her remember. And he _really _wanted her to remember.

Then again, the fact that there was nothing awkward or hesitant about the way they were kissing had him thinking she remembered more than just how she felt about him.

Their kisses grew softer until they were simple, loving pecks, and Al moved his hands to cup her cheeks and looked down at her searchingly. She seemed a bit dazed as she blinked up at him, her lips plump and pink as she breathed heavily.

"I kissed you first, didn't I?"

For the first time in days, Al genuinely smiled. "Yeah, actually. You did."

She nodded, a small smile playing at her own lips. "And we've definitely done that in a broom cupboard."

Al laughed, the relief flowing through him and tears threatening to fall from his eyes as he pulled her close, her head resting against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "You really remember that?"

"I remember how good we are at it," she mumbled into his chest, causing Al to chuckle again. "But it was more flashes of moments than full memories."

Al squeezed her a little tighter and kissed the top of her head. "It's a start."

Erin let out a sigh of contentment and snuggled further into his chest. "Can you stay with me tonight? Just to sleep. I don't know if you were planning to sleep on the sofa and I know things haven't been exactly smooth between us these past few days. But this..._you_ are the only thing that makes sense to me. And I doubt I'd even be able to fall asleep on my own."

Al rested his cheek against the top of her head as he heard the front door open, signally Rose and Scorpius were back. Their moment alone was over, but it had been enough. He was going to have to thank his cousin later.

"Of course I can," he said. "I can't imagine being anywhere else."

* * *

**A/N: Finally we get more Erin! I know it's from Al's POV, but you get her POV next chapter. Thanks for reviewing and really looking forward to hearing from you after this one! I'm getting very excited about where things are heading. So many thoughts and plot points and I can't wait to bring it all together for you all. I hope you enjoy it!**


	24. Fix your mind on a crystal day

Almost a week after Erin left the hospital, they were all doing their best to get back to the normal rhythm of life. Except things weren't normal. No matter how much they pretended they were.

Since he'd gone off on his own and potentially interfered with an active Ministry investigation, Scorpius had been suspended indefinitely. He still had studying to do, but he wasn't allowed to do any other type of training and had absolutely no access to any ongoing cases. This meant that he was spending all of his free time at Erin and Rose's flat when his girlfriend wasn't working. He was even there during the day at times, especially when all his fellow trainees were busy with work he couldn't participate in.

He also seemed to be handling the situation surprisingly well. The Scorpius Erin knew had been easy going enough, but this was a very unexpected reaction. He was strangely calm, given the circumstances.

Erin hadn't gone back to work yet either. It was a bit hard to, seeing as she hadn't yet remembered the majority of her seventh year of school. Draco had graciously provided her with all sorts of reading materials and the notes she'd had in her lab, so she'd spent most of the week pouring over those, sometimes with Scorpius' company.

Just like the night she left the hospital, her memories sometimes resurfaced in bits and pieces, either triggered from someone else's actions or words and sometimes even her own. There were times where it was hard to distinguish what she truly remembered from the things others had told her and made her think she was remembering. The only really solid memory so far had come with a visit from her brother, who'd begged off a day of training to come spend some time with her.

They'd been discussing her frustrations with having no solid memories returning when he'd had the idea to look through some photos. That was when she'd found the gift Al had given her the previous Christmas. It had been easy to spot on the scarcely lined bookcase in her bedroom, and the moment she'd looked at the cover, it all started coming back. She clearly remembered opening the package, flipping through the album, and then later thanking Al when they were in the back woods at his parents' house. She even remembered looking at it with her brother later that evening.

Al had been thrilled when she'd told him, and she'd been quite pleased herself. It was the only full day that she could remember, but it was a start.

There had been frequent visits from her parents, and she'd seen Alice as well. Her sister had the freedom to come over during the day since she could just schedule others to work at the Three Broomsticks while she was gone. It had helped her to remember a few things too, like that she'd visited Alice above the pub and had a slight recollection of her Muggle Studies teacher. She also knew more about what had happened between her sister and Liam Smith than she had before, but nothing as solid as the memory of Christmas Eve.

Al had been a steady support and present as often as he could be. The Aurors and the trainees were still working diligently on tracking Theo Nott and investigating all of the break ins that he was linked to, and Al was nothing if not determined to be a part of hunting down Nott's accomplices, who were likely the ones who had broken into the Manor and attacked Erin. But he'd been placed with the team that was looking at the cases from the homes that had been broken into, rather than trying to track Nott, which had only frustrated him.

"At least you're allowed to be involved," Erin had said before they went to bed one evening. "Scorpius doesn't know anything right now."

He'd still grumbled a bit about it, but begrudgingly agreed that she had a point.

It had quickly become comfortable to fall into a rhythm of daily life with Al, which was strange since they'd never actually lived together before. It wasn't like she was subconsciously remembering what it was like, but it still felt normal in some ways. He'd been given permission to stay the week at the flat while she recovered, and they'd spent every night together.

Apart from her first night back, however, they hadn't been...physically active. Erin had hid behind the excuse that she didn't want to cloud her mind with new memories until more of the old resurfaced. Even though she knew that the last time he'd kissed her, she'd been overwhelmed with familiarity and flashes of moments she hadn't remembered before. But she still hadn't taken advantage of any of the time they spent alone, and she felt a bit guilty that she hadn't even tried talking about it with Al. She was grateful he hadn't pushed and was nothing but patient with her, content to simply lie next to her and sometimes hold her as they fell asleep.

In a lot of ways, he truly was the only thing that made sense. But what Erin didn't want to admit to anyone, including herself, was the fact that something about it _didn't _feel right. She'd gone from only having some latent and unacknowledged feelings for Al, to having them fully realized and even acted on overnight. It hadn't _technically_ been overnight, but it still felt that way to her, even as memories continued to resurface.

Erin had always assumed that she would graduate and find a job and get a flat with Rose and be independent and do her own thing. She'd even wanted that. But Albus Potter was now a huge part of her life, and there was something about that that left Erin feeling unsettled.

She loved Al. Somehow or other, she knew that, and she was thankful she did, because none of it would make sense to her otherwise. Because she also couldn't quite understand how they got to where they were now.

If she understood the situation correctly, things between them were fairly serious. She didn't know how much they'd talked about the future, but she just got the sense from Al that this wasn't just a casual thing. He was in it for the long haul. The only problem with that, was that if Erin had felt the same, she wasn't sure if she did now.

For as long as she could remember, Erin's plans to settle down were far off in the future, if she ever did at all. Had she changed her mind?

Erin had never thought of herself as someone who would settle down early. Had she really changed so much over the course of a year? How had she felt before she'd lost her memories? Was she now holding on to the plans and life she'd envisioned for herself when she was seventeen, or was this how she'd felt while they were together as well? She was fairly certain she still wanted to be with him, but they were still so young.

Of course, she hadn't shared any of these doubts with anyone. Not even Rose. Especially not Rose.

Her lack of disclosing her struggles to her best friend came from two different reasons. First, because Al was Rose's cousin and Erin wasn't sure where that meant she would fall on the loyalty scale when it came to his relationship with her. She also didn't know how they'd been handling the dynamics of their relationships. Did she typically go to Rose if she had problems with Al?

The second reason was because Rose was in no state to talk about the difficulties in someone's relationship. Not when she was so blissfully happy in hers.

Adjusting to Rose and Scorpius' relationship had almost been more difficult than adjusting to her own. Erin was so used to the covert glances and unresolved sexual tension, that it had been a bit jarring for all of it to be gone.

At first, Erin had assumed it seemed so strange to her because she wasn't used to them being together, but the weekend following the break in at the Manor, she learned this might not have been the case.

As had been typical during their time at school, the Weasley twins and the Scamander twins always went out of their way to throw a rather over the top party for their birthdays, which were only a week apart. Erin had been hesitant to attend and thought it might be a bit overwhelming, but Al had encouraged her to go and see if seeing other people might help jog some memories. She'd eventually agreed, but mostly because everyone else was going and she still had a hard time being alone. Especially in the evening.

They'd waited for Al to be done at the Ministry and meet them at the flat before all going to Roxanne and Lorcan's together. Erin remembered from the summer before that they'd now been living there together for a year, and it was only as she saw Roxanne that she remembered the couple was engaged.

"I don't remember how or when, though," she told Roxanne apologetically.

"Oh, please, don't even worry about that," said Roxanne "I'm just so glad you're doing better."

It was easy for Erin to forget that Rose and Al weren't the only members of the Potter-Weasley brood that cared about her. Not that she ever truly believed the others didn't, just that she didn't really think about it. But it became very obvious when she was lifted off the ground in a rather exuberant hug by James a moment later.

"I wanted to come see you but didn't know if that was okay," he said rather quickly, still holding her tight. Erin smiled and hugged him back. She and James usually showed their affection through picking at each other, but she'd always known he was soft to his core when it came to her.

"Thank you," she said, holding tight for a moment longer before he set her back on her feet. He looked older, which she'd come to realize was true of everyone. It had been the reason Al had looked a bit different to her when she first woke up. A year wasn't much, but it made a difference when you were still young.

"I know you're not doing much right now, so do you want to go to my next match?" he asked. Erin paused to consider as Violet came forward to hug her too.

"You can come with me," said Violet, smiling encouragingly at her. "It's on Tuesday and I have the day off. I think my dad and Ron are coming too."

Erin smiled. "That actually sounds like fun."

Violet clapped in excitement as James beamed.

"How come I don't get a ticket?" asked Al, coming up behind Erin and winding his arms around her waist. She let herself be comforted by his presence and leaned back against his chest.

"You're a super important Auror now," James teased. "You can't be arsed to bugger off to Quidditch matches all the time."

"Fine," Al groaned, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Next match when I have the day off, I'm coming. I haven't been to one all season and it's killing me."

James chuckled and grabbed two drinks off a tray that floated by, handing one to his girlfriend. "We're only a week in, but your support is noted and appreciated."

Al released Erin to grab them drinks as well, and she thanked him before taking a sip and scanning the rest of the party as Al chatted with his brother.

Rose and Scorpius had wandered over towards the sitting area and already claimed an armchair, Rose perched on her boyfriend's lap as they talked to Eva Wood, who was sitting on the sofa with Olivia Gibbs and Gloria Rivera, girls that had been in Erin's brother's year at Hogwarts along with Eva. Lorcan was standing behind the couch and talking to a few of his fellow Ravenclaws that Erin recognized but couldn't name. Roxanne had joined her twin brother by a large black box that he was fiddling with, Lysander hovering next to him and appearing to be at least attempting to help with whatever Fred was doing.

It was a bit disconcerting to be in a room full of people who'd lived a whole year that you barely knew anything about.

Erin wandered over to the kitchen, needing a moment to breathe and collect herself a bit. She could feel Al's concerned gaze on the back of her head, but didn't turn back. A breath of relief escaped her as she entered the nearly empty kitchen.

"Getting wild out there already?" asked Dom, smiling in understanding as she sprinkled sugar over some biscuits.

"Not too bad," said Erin, taking a seat at the kitchen table and sipping her drink. "Just still a bit much for me right now."

Dom nodded absentmindedly as she set aside the sugar and dusted off her hands. She'd been a rather constant presence over the week as well, bringing food to Erin multiple times even as she insisted it wasn't necessary.

"We're a rather overbearing lot at times," said Dom, meticulously plating the finished biscuits onto a platter. "But we mean well."

"I know," said Erin, smiling slightly. "And I appreciate how much you all care, but I don't exactly enjoy the sympathetic looks all the time.

Dom gave an annoyed hum and scrunched up her nose. "So fucking obnoxious."

Erin chuckled as Dom placed the final biscuits. She jumped in surprise when the door was flung open a moment later.

"Don't ever enter a kitchen like that," Dom scolded, her hand on her heart as Lysander came through the door. "I could've ruined or dropped something."

He completely ignored her rebukement, snatching a biscuit off the plate and grinning cheekily as she slapped at his hand. There was still a grin on his face as he popped it into his mouth.

"I reckon these would taste amazing eaten out of the garbage, love," he said through his mouthful of biscuit. Dom rolled her eyes and moved the plate further away as he reached for another.

"No, I make you these all the time," she said. "Leave some for your guests."

"They aren't _my_ guests," he said. "I don't live here anymore, remember?"

"Yes, but it's _your _birthday party," she countered, poking him in the chest. "That makes them your guests. And it's rather rude to behave like this in front of one."

Dominique nodded her head to indicate Erin, who was sitting so that Lysander wouldn't have seen her as he entered the kitchen. He turned towards the table and his look of confusion was replaced with one of surprise.

"Oh, hey, Longbottom," he said. "Sorry, did you want a biscuit?"

He quickly reached around Dom and successfully grabbed the recently plated biscuits, holding them high above his head as Dom tried to reach them.

"I'm fine right now, thanks, though," said Erin, chuckling a bit as Dom used most of her weight to try to lower Lysander's arm.

"Fine, you crazy witch," Lysander relented, lowering his arm and placing the biscuits back on the counter, grabbing another one as he did so. "No need to be so controlling when it comes to your bakes."

Dom rested her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him. Lysander only laughed before ducking down to kiss her soundly, causing Erin's eyes to widen in surprise. How long had this been going on?

Dom was giggling as she shoved him away. "Start behaving or you won't get your birthday present."

Lysander gave her a devious smirk as he made to leave the room. "You mean last night wasn't it?"

The sound of his laughter could still be heard as he closed the door just as Dom chucked an oven mitt at his head, her cheeks a bit pink as she scowled. She gave an annoyed huff and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "boys" as she started dusting sugar over another tray of biscuits.

It was getting a bit annoying that she had to ask so many questions about things that everyone probably forgot she didn't know, but Erin took a gulp of her butterbeer before relaxing back into her chair and resigning herself to the situation once again.

"When did you two get together?" she asked. Dom paused in her decorating to purse her lips in thought.

"That's a bit complicated, actually," she said, resuming her task. "We kissed for the first time on Christmas Eve, but decided to keep it casual, you know? And we did, for a while. But then things started getting complicated around Easter, and we finally got it sorted not long before you and Rose moved into your flat."

Erin's brow rose. "That's a long time for things to be complicated."

Dom chuckled and gave Erin a knowing look. "You're one to talk with the way I hear things got going between you and my cousin."

A warmth flooded Erin's cheeks and she took a long drink of her butterbeer to try and hide it. Every time something was mentioned about herself and Al, she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable. Which she felt was a normal feeling to have given the situation. Everyone seemed to know more about her relationship than she did.

"I can't remember, actually," she admitted. It had felt too depressing to ask Al to fill her in, and Rose had been so preoccupied lately that she hadn't really felt like asking her either. So she didn't feel like missing an opportunity to learn more even if she still felt a bit uncomfortable about the situation. "I remember I kissed him first, but that's about it."

Dom looked at her in surprise. "And no one's told you?"

Erin shook her head. "I've been hoping I'd remember on my own," she said, which was actually half true. But if uncomfortable encounters with friends was the consequence of waiting, she was about done with that.

"Well, I only know the broader strokes of it," said Dom. "But I think it started as some friendly snogging and just grew from there. You seemed pretty much together at Teddy and Vic's wedding."

Erin nodded, remembering Rose telling her all about the wedding when she was still in the hospital. She could only remember flashes of that day, but she _could_ remember Christmas Eve. At first, it had just been the memories, but with this new information from Dom, she now recalled how she'd also felt slightly frustrated then. Because they weren't exactly together. Had that changed in the week leading up to the wedding?

This new information proved one thing, though. Things definitely hadn't been serious from the get go.

"Everything I know has been through Rose and Ethan and Violet," Dom continued. "So I can't swear by it, but those are fairly reliable sources."

Erin could only give another small nod, questions running through her mind that she knew Dominique wouldn't be able to answer.

"Is it just me, or are Rose and Scorpius way more sickening than they used to be?" grumbled Fred as he barged into the kitchen, much in the same manner that his best friend had only a few minutes before. This time, Dom actually did drop a biscuit she'd been about to place. She glared at her cousin as Lysander followed him into the room

"That's hardly worth you bursting in here like that," she snapped, ducking down to retrieve the dropped biscuit. Lysander was quick to snatch it from her as she made to toss it in the bin.

"No need to waste it," he said as he popped it into his mouth. Dom rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her cousin, who was eyeing the biscuits but probably knew better than to mess with his cousin's creations without permission.

"What's this you're on about?" asked Dominique. Fred jerked his head towards the kitchen door, and his cousin moved forward with a curious expression as he cracked it open. Erin couldn't see what they were looking at, but whatever it was had Dom's brow rising in surprise.

"I'm fairly certain I've never seen any PDA from them, let alone _that_ much."

This statement had Erin and Lysander both moving to look through the door as well. Rose was still sitting on Scorpius' lap, but rather than carrying on a conversation with the people around them, Rose was whispering something to Scorpius, who was trailing his hand up and down her thigh, his fingers slipping under the edge of her skirt. As they continued to watch, Rose giggled and Scorpius blushed before she pressed a kiss to his neck, and then he turned his head to catch her lips with his own.

"I'm not sure I'm okay with this," said Fred, watching them with a furrowed brow. "Should I not be okay with this?"

"Oh please, it's young love," said Dom, pulling the door free from Fred's grasp and closing it. "They're allowed to enjoy it."

"Still," said Fred, taking a seat at the table as Erin resumed her own. "I don't like how handsy Malfoy's getting."

Dom snorted in amusement as she placed the last few biscuits on a serving platter. "And it's your business because…?"

"Because...because she's my cousin!" Fred spluttered, his eyes wide and his hand gesturing to what lay beyond the kitchen door. "I'm supposed to protect her."

It was Erin who snorted in amusement this time. "Sorry, but I think it's up to Rose who she wants protecting her."

Fred looked at her in confusion. "Umm...isn't it the job of men to protect their female relatives?"

"Sometimes," said Dom with a shrug. "But not from something she obviously doesn't need protecting from, and not from someone who was never given the role of her protector. Besides, I'm pretty sure she'd protect Scorpius from _you _before she'd ever let you protect her from him."

Erin nodded in agreement as Fred slouched back in his chair, his arms crossed and looking thoroughly put out.

"So," said Erin, turning to Dom who was now levitating both trays of biscuits and preparing to leave the kitchen. "It's not normally like that?" she asked. "With Rose and Scorpius?"

Dom shook her head. "I'm guessing it has been all week?"

Erin nodded. "They're a bit insufferable at times, actually. I wasn't sure if it had been that way the whole time or not. It definitely doesn't seem familiar."

Dom shrugged as she opened the door and the pastries floated through in front of her. "Who knows. Maybe this whole mess just put stuff into perspective for them. Which wasn't the result I expected, actually."

With that, she walked out to the party, Lysander following her. The door had barely swung shut behind them before it was pushed open again.

"Hey," said Al, looking at Erin in concern as he entered the room. "You okay?"

She nodded as Fred stood and left the kitchen as well, leaving Al and Erin alone. "Yeah, just needed a moment."

His expression grew even more concerned as he crouched down in front of her, his green eyes roaming her face and his hands clasped in front of him. "Can I do anything?" he asked. Erin sighed, unable not to notice how he seemed to be holding himself back from her. He hadn't seemed to have an issue with showing affection in front of others, but this wasn't the first time that he grew hesitant when they were alone.

And Erin knew it was all her fault.

Slowly, she reached a hand out towards him, and Al's stiff posture relaxed a bit as he took her hand and remained crouched in front of her.

"I think we need to talk," she said, and Al's shoulders tensed once again. "There's just so much I still can't remember," she hurried to explain, "and I've been trying to hold off learning more with the hope that it'll just all come back to me, but I'm seeing more and more that being reminded of things is what helps me remember best. So, as strange or uncomfortable as it might be, we need to just get everything out there. Even things that we maybe hadn't talked about before. Because I can't tell the difference between what's year-ago-me and what's now-me as far as how I feel about things."

She paused to catch her breath, watching Al closely as he took a moment to respond.

"All right," he finally said, his voice and his eyes soft as his thumb stroked the back of her hand. "If you're ready, let's talk."

Erin gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you. We should probably wait till we're back at the flat, though."

Al nodded and moved to stand, but Erin could tell she'd worried him. She kept his hand in hers as she stood as well, tempted to offer some form of reassurance, but unable to follow through. Where their conversation would lead was unknown to her, and she felt physically incapable of making any type of promise that could possibly turn out to be an empty one.

* * *

**A/N: My apologies for making you wait so long! also that this is a bit of a filler chapter, but I still hope you enjoy it! I've been a bit out of the groove but getting a little back into it! Hopefully you'll hear from me a little more frequently again. If I can manage to keep the distracting plot bunnies away. I have a few unposted and unfinished oneshots I keep going back to, so you might be seeing those soon too! As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated! I'll work on getting better at responding to them.**


	25. It'll rain a sunny day

**A/N: My sincerest apologies for how long it's taken me to update! I haven't had as much time to write lately and I wanted to make sure I got this one right and it went the direction I wanted it to. Just to recap, Scorpius went rogue then proposed to Rose and no one else knows they're engaged. You're pretty much caught up now.**

* * *

The morning after Scorpius proposed, Rose had what she would later refer to as a mild panic attack.

After Al and Erin had gone to bed, Scorpius had quietly followed Rose into her room. Earlier in the evening, he'd volunteered to Floo the Ministry and let Betty know that Al wouldn't be back that night and possibly not staying in the dorms the rest of the week. What they hadn't told Al or Erin, was that Scorpius told Betty to expect the same from him as well.

Rose wasn't entirely sure why they were keeping all the new developments in their relationship a secret from her cousin and her flatmate, but she did know that she didn't want to draw attention to them. Especially with everything else going on.

She'd woken with a start the next morning when she registered the sound of someone else breathing, flipping over to see Scorpius lying on his stomach and sleeping soundly. He was shirtless and - she realized belatedly - had one arm draped over her waist.

Rose's breathing grew quick as memories of the day before began to surface, and she looked down at the ring on her left hand.

Holy mother of Merlin. What had she done?

Acting quickly and as silently as possible, she crawled out of bed, noted that she was only dressed in his T-shirt, and hurried into the bathroom. She'd never been more thankful that Erin had let her have the room that had direct access to the loo.

It wasn't until she was under the hot spray of the shower that she finally started to calm down. Her breathing, at least. Her mind was another matter.

What were they thinking? What was _he _thinking? They were far too young to be getting married anytime soon. Besides, Scorpius had been through a lot recently. How well thought out could his actions be?

Why on earth had she thought it was a good idea to say yes?

Rose felt the cool metal of her ring against her scalp as she washed her hair. This was insane. Absolutely insane.

Her thoughts were struggling to be coherent as she dried off and put on her bathrobe before brushing her teeth. She felt conflicting feelings of panic and excitement and anxiety and joy. Yes, part of her was thrilled that Scorpius loved her and wanted to marry her, but much more of her thought he was completely out of his mind for asking.

Rose wrung her hair out with the towel one last time before hanging it on the hook by the shower that had become hers. Slowly, she opened the door that led to her room and was relieved to find a still sleeping Scorpius.

She needed time to think and time to stop panicking. She needed to think about this logically.

He was starting to stir by the time she was fully dressed, and Rose hesitated. She could run off before he woke up and put everything off until she had her head on a little straighter, or she could realize that was the cowardly thing to do and stay a few more minutes and actually talk to him.

And then a wave of guilt crashed over her at what she was about to do. The last thing Scorpius needed was for her to walk out on him in any way. It would be selfish of her to just leave.

Besides, she still had half an hour before she had to be at work. She had time.

She didn't have long to prepare herself, however, because Scorpius took a deep breath and stretched a second later, his head coming up and his eyes squinting as he glanced around. Rose saw the moment he realized where he was, and then his attention fell to the empty spot beside him. He pushed himself up and searched the room with wide eyes that showed relief as soon as they landed on her standing by the door.

"Hey," he said, his posture relaxing a bit as he sat up fully and smiled at her. Rose couldn't find it in herself not to smile back. His hair was sticking up on one side and he had lines on his face. And she didn't think she would ever get tired of seeing him like this.

"Good morning," she said, moving back towards the bed and sitting on the side, facing him. Scorpius immediately reached out and held her left hand in his. His smile grew brighter as he brushed his thumb over her ring.

"Going to work?" he asked, his voice a bit rough from sleep. Rose nodded, worrying for the first time that morning how he would handle his current situation.

"What about you?" she asked, her brow furrowed in concern. Scorpius shrugged and looked a bit more somber, but there was still a light to his eyes.

"I have a meeting with the trainers at ten and I'll know what my future looks like after that. I'm not getting kicked out, I don't think, but I'll probably be benched for a bit. I could've seriously messed things up if I'd managed to find Theo and tip him off to everything that's going on. He probably already is, though, if Vaisy talked to his sister."

He didn't seem too bothered by his potential suspension. More resigned than anything. It was a pretty healthy way to deal with it, actually, Rose considered. There was nothing he could do to change what he'd done. He could only move forward and do better and make up for his mistakes in any way he could.

"Think you'll just go hang out at the Manor?" she asked, surprised when he quickly shook his head.

"I don't feel like seeing my dad any time soon, to be honest," he said, anger clouding his eyes as he looked away from her.

"What? What happened?" asked Rose. Scorpius sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes.

"He kept it from me," he said. "He knew about Theo's past and I've got no clue how much he knows about his current business, but he knew enough to be suspicious and insisted I stay kept in the dark. I just don't really feel like having that conversation yet."

Rose sighed and nodded in understanding, falling silent as Scorpius focused his gaze on their joined hands. He ran his thumb across the ring he'd given her once again, and Rose's whole body tensed involuntarily.

Scorpius' hand froze and his eyes came up to meet Rose's, his previous anger now replaced with concern as he asked if she was all right.

"Fine," said Rose, a little too high and a little too shaky. She tried to pull her hand away, but Scorpius held on tighter, pulling her a bit closer and taking her other hand as well. He wasn't forcing her to stay, but it was all too easy for Rose to comply as she moved so her knees were now pressing against his hip, their thighs flush.

"What's wrong?" he insisted, and Rose took a deep breath that had her cheeks puffing out before releasing it heavily.

"I don't know," she admitted, unable to quite meet his eyes. "I just keep thinking…Scorpius, are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

He seemed a bit startled by her question, but almost immediately assumed a reassuring presence rather than a hurt or worried one.

"Rose, I _know, _without a doubt, that _you _are what I want," he said, his light blue eyes catching hers and soft in their expression. "Forever. And even if you want to wait a few years before there's an actual wedding, that's still going to be true."

She relaxed a bit, though a voice in her head that sounded an awful lot like her mother kept coming through with skepticism and admittedly rational questions.

"But we don't know what either of us will be doing a year from now or two years from now," she pointed out. "What if I get a job somewhere else? And aren't you supposed to do a few months of training abroad at some point like Teddy did? And if I'm still working where I am now, there's no way I could afford a wedding. And it's not like you get much compensation during training. Where would we-?"

He cut her off by gripping her hands a little tighter, his eyes searching hers and a bit of worry appearing in them. "We can figure all that out," he said. "If we wait, we'll have time to save and prepare, if that's what you want to do."

Rose let out a heavy sigh once again and nodded, offering him an attempt at a smile.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" he asked. "Or is there another reason you're panicking a bit?"

She searched his concerned gaze for a moment before leaning forward and resting her forehead on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths, finally feeling a bit more calm as Scorpius kissed the top of her head.

"I love you and I trust you," she said in barely more than a whisper. "I really do. But I'm still a bit scared."

"Of what?"

"Of it all falling apart," said Rose, realizing how true that was as she said it. "It's just...it's not always the best idea to make such big life decisions during seasons of chaos or change or grief, and that's where you are right now. I trust that you love me and you want this, but I'm having a hard time not wondering if all this is just a reaction to the uncertainty surrounding you right now. Like you need something that _is _certain, and proposing to me brings you that."

He remained silent, his cheek now resting against the top of her head. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, steady and warm.

"You're right," he finally said, causing Rose to stiffen as fear shot through her. "I _do _want something that's certain, but it wasn't like I decided to settle for the first thing I came across that gave me that. Rose, if I can be certain of _you,_ nothing else matters. I can spend days and weeks and even months without a job or not talking to my family or anything else as long as I'm certain of you."

She sat back to meet his eyes again as he continued. "And I think everything that's happened the past few days has just made me more sure of what I want, and in case I haven't said it enough, that's you."

Finally, Rose smiled, a sense of warmth and security and comfort filling her. It was obvious that he meant every word he said, and she had no reason and no desire not to believe he'd stick by them.

She knew it was impossible to be certain of the future and there would always be a bit of fear, but then you wouldn't need faith if everything was certain.

"Okay," she said. "I believe you and I trust you and I want this too."

He smiled back at her before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"I can't promise I won't panic every now and then," she said. Scorpius chuckled and kissed her again.

"I know," he said, kissing her cheek. "Just talk to me about it when you do, and we'll figure it out."

She'd left for work a few moments later, reminding Scorpius to put up a silencing spell before he planned to Apparate out. Keeping their sleeping arrangement quiet was probably still a wise choice. And there was admittedly something thrilling about sneaking around.

The week carried on with Rose and Scorpius both a bit blissed out on each other. The realities of the world permeated their joy every now and then, but nothing was able to fully undermine their happiness. Scorpius had been suspended, but he was still allowed and expected to attend lectures and do assignments even though he'd been barred from participating in any active cases as well as the training room. The timeline was indefinite, but Sharkey and Ferguson had said that it would most likely be a week-to-week call. He'd probably be allowed back in the training room sooner than he was granted any type of access to current cases. Scorpius was just grateful he wouldn't fall completely behind, and he could at least get work outs in on his own.

Rose and Scorpius managed to keep their engagement to themselves throughout the week, though it wasn't always easy. Some days, Rose was so thrilled and overwhelmed with excitement that she wanted more than anything to share it with Erin or Al or her mother or Dominique, but she was determined to hold her tongue until things settled down a bit. Plus, it was sort of nice having it all to themselves.

She knew they were in danger of giving themselves away, too. It was hard to keep from being a bit over the top when it came to affection and dreamy looks. She'd probably be a bit annoyed if it was anyone but herself acting in such a way.

Although, part of these new developments came from the progression of their physical relationship as well, and people were more likely to assume _that_ than they were to jump to the conclusion that Scorpius had proposed.

Things weren't always warm fuzzy feelings and sublime and tender evenings, though. Especially since Scorpius had been ignoring every attempt his father made to reach out to him. He was at least responding to his mother, and Rose could tell he was growing increasingly more guilty about not going to see her. She hadn't been doing well the last time they'd seen her.

It was Rose who finally talked him into going to see his parents, and it wasn't until she agreed to go with him that he actually made the effort.

They made plans to go have lunch at the Manor the day after the birthday party for the twins. Scorpius was still very reluctant to go, seeing as it would ruin the happy bubble they'd built around themselves over the past week. Rose felt the same, to an extent, but the part of her that wanted to make sure Scorpius didn't run from his problems was relieved they were going. The last thing she wanted was for their relationship to become a crutch or simply a means of escape.

With all her relief, however, Rose couldn't help feeling nervous. She'd been to Malfoy Manor before, and she'd even been there as Scorpius' girlfriend, but she'd never sat down for a meal with his parents as his fiancée, let alone as a secret one.

After leaving a note for Erin and Al - who either weren't at the flat or had yet to emerge from her room all morning - Rose and Scorpius Flooed to Malfoy Manor and were greeted by a very tired looking but grateful Astoria. She pulled her son into a hug the moment he'd stepped out of the grate and Rose appeared behind him.

"I'm so sorry, darling," she heard Astoria whisper to her son. "I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this."

"Mum, I'm fine," he assured her, continuing to hold her tight. "Are you all right? I'm sorry I haven't been around."

Astoria shook her head as she pulled back to look up at Scorpius. "I'm fine, all right? I don't want you worrying about me on top of everything else."

Scorpius gave a reluctant nod before his mother turned to Rose, pulling her into an equally tight embrace.

"Thank you for looking after him," she whispered, though by the way Rose caught Scorpius rolling his eyes, it wasn't quiet enough.

"Always," said Rose, flashing her fiancé a smile over his mother's shoulder before pulling back. She was so busy trying not to laugh at his annoyed yet amused expression that she didn't notice Astoria grabbing her hands.

"How's-?"

But whatever question Mrs. Malfoy was about to ask was cut short, the older witch now looking at a confused Rose in stunned silence. Slowly, Astoria's gaze lowered and her grip on Rose's left hand shifted. She purposefully rested her thumb right on top of the ring Scorpius had placed there less than a week ago, and Rose felt her stomach drop to her toes.

"Mum, what's-?"

"Scorpius," Draco said hesitantly, cutting off his son's question as he entered the room. Scorpius turned his attention to his father, but Rose couldn't pull her eyes away from Astoria, who'd met her gaze again and was staring at her with a dropped jaw.

There was no use trying to rip her hands away, no matter how much Rose felt anxious to do so. All she could do as Scorpius and his father became lost in their own staring contest was wait for the inevitable fallout that was about to happen.

How angry were they going to be?

No sooner had this question entered Rose's mind than the fear was completely dashed. An ecstatic smile bloomed across Astoria's face, and she let out a cry of delight before pulling Rose back into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she gushed, her husband and son now looking at the two women in confusion. Rose only had enough time to send Scorpius a wide eyed look before his mother was pulling back to hold Rose's hand in her own again. "It looks even lovelier on you than it did on me."

Rose's eyes somehow managed to widen even more. "You...you can see it?"

"Of course," said Astoria, smiling at Rose. "It can be seen by anyone it's been given to."

"Oh," said Rose, turning her attention back to Scorpius. His eyes were wide as well as he glanced between where his mother was holding Rose's hand and his fiancée's surprised face.

"Shit," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure you failed to mention that."

"Oh, no matter," said Astoria, continuing to hold Rose's hand as she turned to face her son. "You were going to tell us anyway."

"Tell us what, exactly?" asked Draco, taking a hesitant step towards his wife yet looking between Rose and Scorpius. His son let out a heavy sigh, glancing at Rose in question. At this point, there was nothing she could do except nod in acquiescence.

"Rose and I are engaged," he said, the resignation in his voice making way for a smile as he continued to look at Rose. Nothing could take away the joy he felt at knowing those words were true. Even the rather unexpected and premature way his parents were learning the truth.

Draco was at his wife's side and looking down at the ring he could now see with wide eyes. Rose watched him closely, noting the way his Adam's Apple bobbed when he swallowed, clearly stunned and at a loss for words. While it wasn't surprising to Rose that Scorpius' mother was very in favor of their engagement, it seemed far less likely that his father would be. Unless he was keen on not doing anything else to upset or push away his son.

Before Rose could find out either way, they were interrupted by a familiar stag bursting into the room.

"_Malfoy. You're needed at the Ministry. Come to my office. Immediately."_

They all stared in silence as the patronus disappeared. Draco cleared his throat and shook his head, obviously still a bit in shock due to recent events.

"Right, well…" he said uncertainly, glancing between Rose and his son. "I'm sorry, but as you heard, I'm needed elsewhere."

Draco gave his concerned looking wife a kiss on the cheek before heading to the Floo, grabbing a handful of powder and tossing it into the grate. He paused before stepping in, looking between Rose and Scorpius once again. His son had moved to stand next to Rose, his arm around her waist.

"We'll talk about this later," he said to Scorpius, offering him a strained smile before stepping into the green flames.

A pit immediately formed in Rose's stomach as she looked up at Scorpius. Not just because Draco's reluctance to show approval at the news of his son's engagement was likely to cause an even greater rift between them, but because her uncle's request likely had to do with Scorpius' godfather. The whole thing was just another reminder that he was being kept in the dark. Again.

"Well," said Astoria, her tone a bit nervous as she smiled and took her son's arm. "We can still have lunch. I'm so thrilled for you two. I want to hear everything."

* * *

It would be a bit much to say Scorpius was livid after leaving his parents' home, but it wasn't too far off the mark.

He and Rose truly had enjoyed a lovely lunch with his mother, who - despite their insistence that they weren't quite ready to plan a wedding yet - was full of questions and excitement. In fact, she'd looked healthier than Scorpius had seen her in months, and all at the prospect of her only son getting married. He was grateful his own happiness could bring her some as well. It was even enough to make him momentarily forget his frustration with his father.

"He's not happy," Scorpius said as he followed Rose into her kitchen. "I don't know if it's because he thinks we're too young or some shit about you being a Weasley, but he's not happy."

Rose let out a heavy sigh as she placed the leftovers his mother had sent with them in the ice box. "Maybe he was just surprised," she said. "It was a bit sudden, and it's not like we prepared them for anything like this."

"Still," said Scorpius, taking a seat at the table and crossing his arms with an admittedly petulant attitude. "He could've at least congratulated us."

"He will," Rose promised him, moving to the stove to put the kettle on. "And so will my parents when we tell them."

She busied herself with putting away clean dishes that had been drying by the sink. Scorpius couldn't help noting that she sounded like she was trying to convince herself of her parents' positive reaction as well as him. He leaned forward onto the table, resting on his elbows and rubbing tiredly at his eyes as he let out a deep breath.

"I suppose we'll have to tell them soon," said Scorpius. "I don't see my parents keeping it quiet."

Rose didn't respond as he continued to sit there, his head now resting in his hands. He knew his parents would be pleased, which he was mostly right about. But he would be lying if he said the thought that her parents - and her dad in particular - disapproving hadn't crossed his mind multiple times over the past week. At this point, he was pretty much expecting to be on the receiving end of a furrowed brow and even a telling off from Ron Weasley.

He'd probably get an earful about how he hadn't asked for Ron's blessing.

Scorpius looked up at the sound of a mug of tea being placed on the table. Rose was now sitting across from him, her own mug of tea in her hands and a worried look on her face. Scorpius pulled the mug she'd placed in front of him closer, lightly blowing across the steaming liquid as he waited for her to say whatever was on her mind.

"You don't think he'll say anything to Uncle Harry, do you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "My dad prides himself on not being a gossip. He'd only say anything if he thought it was necessary, and I don't see how-"

The sound of the Floo bursting to life caused them both to start in surprise. Rose was on her feet a moment later as the sound of multiple people pouring out of the fireplace reached them. They shared a confused look before Rose headed out of the kitchen, Scorpius following behind her as an argument broke out between what sounded an awful lot like Rose's parents.

Scorpius stopped in surprise when the door opened to reveal not just Ron and Hermione Weasley, but also Harry Potter and his own father as well.

"-to remain calm, Ron," the Minister was saying to her husband, a reassuring hand on his arm as the former Auror locked eyes with Scorpius.

"What's going on?" asked Rose, addressing her Uncle, who'd approached her as her father began to stare unblinkingly at Scorpius. Ron looked like he was fighting very hard to hold himself back, and an intense dread filled Scorpius as he realized he was about to face the reality he'd been dreading.

"I think it's best if we all take a seat," said Harry calmly, throwing a pointed look towards his best friend. Ron gave a barely perceptible nod before allowing his wife to guide him to the couch where she sat next to him, Harry on his other side. Draco took the armchair by the fire as Scorpius summoned a chair from the kitchen, placing it next to the remaining armchair where Rose sat. He instinctively reached out and took her hand in his, noting that she was practically sitting on her other one. He tried not to let it bother him that she was obviously fearful of her parents somehow catching a glimpse of the ring on her finger.

In many ways, he couldn't blame her. Sitting across from the three people who took down the greatest dark wizard of all time was a bit formidable on any day. But when they were all watching you expectantly with varying degrees of concern and severity, it was enough to make anyone uneasy. Especially when there was something you were hiding.

The thing that Scorpius couldn't understand, however, was the fact that it wasn't just Rose's parents and his dad there, but her uncle as well. It would maybe make sense if he'd just tagged along to get Ron to see reason and help calm him down, but Harry seemed to be the one taking charge. And if they were all there because his father had let news of their engagement slip, that didn't make sense to Scorpius at all.

"Right," said Harry, straightening his glasses and taking a deep breath before forging ahead. "It would be brilliant if we could all try to keep level heads, yeah?" he said with a glance between Ron and Draco, who also seemed to be barely keeping himself in check. His anger was directed at Rose's father rather than Scorpius, however, which he was grateful for.

"And," Harry continued, turning his attention to Rose and Scorpius, "let's try to be honest with each other."

After a moment of hesitation and a glance at both her parents, Rose nodded. But Harry directed his next words to Scorpius.

"According to your father," he said, green eyes watching him closely, "you've asked Rose to marry you."

It wasn't a question, but Scorpius knew he had to answer. "Yes, sir."

There was a noticeable intake of breath from both her parents, but Harry continued as if nothing had occurred.

"And she's accepted?"

This time, Scorpius looked at Rose, who squeezed his hand and gave him a subtle smile. "Yes, I have."

He couldn't help the smile that bloomed across his face as she turned to look at her wide-eyed parents with resolve. "Mum, Dad," she said, pulling her hand out from under her leg and holding it up for her parents to see. "Scorpius and I are engaged."

The silence was stifling as this news sunk in - the seconds feeling like hours. It was hard to tell if Rose's mum was joyful or devastated. It honestly seemed like a mixture of both as tears welled in her eyes and she stared at the ring on her daughter's finger. Her father, on the other hand, now looked pale rather than red with anger, his face now betraying feelings of shock and even fear.

They both seemed genuinely caught off guard, but hadn't they known already?

"Told you," Draco chimed in, sounding satisfied even if his expression was almost as fearful as Ron's.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron nearly snarled, his face regaining its color as he glared at his former enemy. "This isn't the time to be an arse."

"Ron-"

"He's right," said Harry, cutting off Hermione's admonishment and throwing Draco a stern yet pleading look. "No need to make this more difficult than it already is."

"What's difficult?" asked Rose, growing frustrated.

"This whole bloody thing," her father grumbled, running his hands through already disheveled hair.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Rose said to her parents, "but I'm going to marry him. You might have concerns or objections, but it's my decision."

Scorpius had to try very hard not to beam with pride. He knew standing up to her parents like that wasn't easy. But it was her uncle who responded.

"Actually, Rosie, that's the thing," Harry said apologetically. "You can't."

Rose looked at her uncle in confusion. Scorpius felt a tightness growing in his chest. "Can't what?"

Harry grimaced, no doubt knowing the reaction his next words were about to provoke. "You can't marry Scorpius Malfoy."

* * *

**A/N: Back again! Sorry for the cliffhanger but also not. And my apologies for no Al and Erin this time around. We will get to them next. Hopefully very soon!**


End file.
